His daughter was left without a mother when the baby was only two years old. Since then, dad has been doing a great job on his own, but to others it seems nonsense.
The wife of Michael Ray, a professional trainer, left the family when their common daughter Charlie was barely two years old. Now the girl is almost seven years old. All this time : cares, braids, teaches manners and other important things. And everything seems to be fine, except for one small “but”: they look at him askance when he escorts the baby to the toilet or even just takes pictures of her.
“People are somehow subconsciously prejudiced against single fathers, especially if they raise girls. No, I have enough support, but the patronizing tone – “Are you doing it?” – just pisses me off, “says Michael. He himself believes that being a single father may be unusual, but dads are exactly the same parents as mothers. But from time to time, women still ask him hurtful questions. For example:
“Are you sitting with your child today?”
“No, I’m just raising my daughter. I’m a parent, not a nurse, you know? Dads can raise children too. This is not an exclusive feminine right. I cannot give birth. But he is quite capable of raising his own child. “
“Do you want to check with your wife?”
“This usually happens when I buy something for Charlie at the pharmacy or in the children’s cosmetics department. As if I cannot cope with such a task – to choose shampoo or vitamins for my daughter. If I can braid a pigtail, then I’ll buy some shampoo. “
“Who is combing her and doing her manicure?”
“I. You know, it’s not that hard, especially if you watch a couple of tutorials on YouTube. Charlie chooses what hairstyle she wants, then we see how to do it – and we do it. And yet, you may have even heard of such a miracle, but there are male hairdressers! And what is so great about trimming your child’s nails neatly? Once, when I dressed up Charlie especially beautifully and combed her hair, five women, no less, said how great our mom had done while dressing the baby. When I replied that I dressed her myself, they refused to believe: “Dad knows how to dress a child?”
“Every girl needs a mom!”
“Doesn’t the boy need it? You know, I can’t even imagine how I approach a single mom who is raising a son, and say something similar about dad. Yes, we need a female role model. So Charlie has it – she even knows the champions in powerlifting and athletics. And in Barbie I myself will play with her with pleasure ”.
“How are you going to tell her about female puberty?”
“How are you and your son planning to talk about this? I don’t think this is a problem. First, some things are explained at school. Secondly, I hope to maintain as trusting a relationship with Charlie as possible. Then she will be able to come to me with any of her problems, and we will be able to talk about everything without a drop of embarrassment. “
“Probably, you wanted a son more?”
“And where did you get this? Because I’m a former boxer, trainer, and undisputed powerlifting champion? Therefore, you think that I can only raise a boy, and I have nothing to give my little princess? On the contrary, I always, every second think about how my behavior will affect the development of my girl. I give her flowers, I never raise my voice to her – I want this to become the norm for her in dealing with men. “