Cross-Promotion: Manly Man Parenting

Posted on 07. Jun, 2007 by Brian Reid in General

Last week, my buddy Paul Nyhan posted a link to this Men’s Health story titled “Raise Kids Like a Man.” I give my general thoughts today over at On Balance.

As I mentioned at OB, I was kind of torn by the piece. The advice was generally spot-on, and I love — love — that Men’s Health would take so much time to outline what active fatherhood looks like. An editor there once told me that they get a ton of response whenever they write about dads, and it’s good to see them giving the readers what they want.

But the bigger question for me is whether there is really a way to “Raise Kids Like a Man,” or if a man raising a kid is pretty much like a women doing the same thing. Don’t get me wrong: if branding at-home fatherhood as something unique manly will get more people to consider it, I’ll happily play along. But it seems like a stretch to me …

2 Responses to “Cross-Promotion: Manly Man Parenting”

  1. Nick

    08. Jun, 2007

    Hey RD - I saw that article and thought it was pretty good. You know MH they say everything is “like a man,” it’s their schtick. Funnily enough, I think that men do have strengths in child rearing (like being physically able to carry the stupid car seats) but they didn’t much focus on that stuff.

  2. furrow

    08. Jun, 2007

    Personally, I think this article could serve as a self-help article for many stay-at-home moms. Stop running yourself ragged, learn to parent like a man. The get-it-done-as-quickly-and-easily-as-possible-while-still-finding-time-relax-and-have-fun approach is a sound one. This is why my husband is going to make an incredible stay at home dad to our first child, due in October. He already possesses this mentality. Moms can parent this way, too, but they encounter a lot of resistance and judgment from more obsessive moms, I’m afraid.

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