The whistling I hear breaks my daydreams and delusions of possibility. The whistling is a personification of the years passing me by – the proverbial winds of change. My babies are growing up – and my window of opportunity is closing.I remember when I was 22 and a young student teacher. I completed a semester of my student teaching at my alma mater – the halls of the high school that helped mold me into the individual that I am. We had a set of senior twin boys there who talked about their father being a stay-at-home dad for the first five years of their life. I remember thinking that was … [Read more...]
Being a Dad Amplifies Isolation of At-Home Parenting
We all want our day in equality court. But I have lived a sheltered life away from the judgment of societal norms, so I had no idea my first experience requiring it would come as stay-at-home dad when I was shunned at the playground … by moms.It was a brisk morning for April in Texas. I arrived at the local playground and felt a sobering chill go down my spine. Per usual, I was putting on an impressive dad-ing display when two, seemingly innocuous, moms approached. My kids jumped out of their skin at the sight of other children to play with and darted to greet them. I helped my children … [Read more...]
Stay-at-Home Parents Earn Job Recognition from Hospital
Editor's Note: This article by Chris Brandenburg of our Twin Cities Dads Group explains why and how he got one of the largest pediatric health systems in the country to change its system so stay-at-home parents are no longer classified as "unemployed" in its admission systems.“She can hear, but it’s like hearing underwater,” the specialist said.The ear infections had taken their toll on my daughter, on my family and on me. To see my bright little girl in pain, to know she was having trouble at school, to know the medicine wasn’t helping -- it all led to the correct decision: tubes … [Read more...]
‘Mother Huddle’ Makes Friendship Hard for At-Home Dad, Child
Like any parent, I want my kid to be happy at school. This is her first year, and while she knew a couple of the kids before classes started, there were still a lot of new faces to get to know. I figured friendships would form naturally, and that’s true to a certain extent. But I soon realized many friendships were swiftly forming because of connections outside of the classroom.One aspect of parenting that stay-at-home dads have to deal with is the “mother huddle.” That is those groups of moms who congregate at parks, coffee shops and playgrounds. The mother huddle is as much an idea as a … [Read more...]
Life as an At-Home Dad Among a ‘Sea of Yoga Pants’
How does one write humorously about being an at-home father without slipping into the ol' "dumb dad" tropes? How does a parent write about his or her children in a way that won't embarrass them years down the road?Brian Craig of our Indianapolis Dads Group tackles those questions and also reads a couple of selections from his book Lone Pair of Blue Jeans in a Sea of Yoga Pants in this latest edition of The Modern Dads Podcast.Lone Pair of Blue Jeans in a Sea of Yoga Pants compiles some of the best posts Craig wrote in his award-winning "A Dad Influence" column for Indy’s Child … [Read more...]