Unless, of course, he claims to be the proud title of a parent, and not a person who is absolutely helpless in the “childish” issue.
The results of a study examining the distribution of parenting and childcare responsibilities and household chores are unlikely to surprise anyone. Over the past half century, the role of a man in these matters has tripled, nevertheless, fathers do half as much as mothers. Of course, everything can be attributed to maternity leave – so, they say, she doesn’t go to work! No, gentlemen, when a woman goes to work, nothing changes globally. It’s just that an office is added to my mother’s affairs.
But the study has another takeaway. It turns out that the unequal distribution of domestic and educational responsibilities affects children. Both boys and girls are absorbing the idea of gender inequality: guys believe that their concern is lying on the couch, and girls are willing to put up with lower wages. To prevent this from happening, dads simply must learn to do at least these 15 things – and then they can proudly call themselves an equal parent.
1. Braid a braid
Who said that this is not a man’s business? Do dads have their hands growing from another place? As Michael Ray said, a dad raising a daughter alone does not need to have any special mindset to gently brush a child’s hair. “Especially in this age of YouTube video tutorials,” he adds.
And yet another single dad who is raising two children has even become an Instagram celebrity thanks to the hairstyles that his daughter does.
2. Check homework
Otherwise, what happens when mom sits late at night with the child, while dad watches football peacefully at this time? Why doesn’t he go check out his homework while Mom prepares dinner? Then everyone can go to bed on time. And at the same time make sure that the teachers did not deceive, saying that school knowledge will be useful to you someday.
3. Feed the baby
Yes, even from a bottle. There is nothing supernatural here either: heat milk or mixture and feed the baby. By the way, scientists have already found that women lose much more sleep with the birth of children than men. And this often becomes one of the factors of postpartum depression, which can drag on for years.
4. Cut your nails
It’s a huge stress to trim the nails on those tiny toes. So stressful that some moms even bite their kids’ nails instead of cutting them. Ugh? Of course ugh. In general, fathers should also learn how to do this. You never know, suddenly mom gets sick, she needs to leave urgently, or something else happens – you will wait until she comes back to hand her the baby and scissors?
5. Take to the kindergarten and pick up from there
And to school, if necessary. The main question here is to collect the child in the morning. Dress, check the satchel, if we are talking about school, comb your hair – see paragraph one. Many mothers complain that even if you leave a set of clothes for a child to dad for the morning, he will still go to kindergarten in just about anything – dad will sincerely make big eyes and repeat: “But I didn’t find” or “What’s wrong?” No, nothing, just the child is wearing dirty tights, a home dress that they didn’t have time to throw away, and a hat of Maya the bee.
6. Sections, circles, doctors
“What, your mom died?” – In a whisper, the pediatrician asked one of the dads, who regularly came with the child for examinations. No, she’s not dead. It’s just that dad is also able to come to the clinic – everyone adjusts their schedule to the children’s needs, so as not to overstrain. The child is common. Talking to a doctor, teacher, coach, answering their questions and listening to recommendations – this is what dad is quite capable of.
7. Read a bedtime story
You can even sing a lullaby! Yes, the baby loves his mother’s voice more, he got used to it even before birth. In addition, after childbirth, the timbre of mother’s voice magically changes to make the baby even more comfortable. But this is not a reason to deprive yourself of communication with the child, you also need a close connection with the baby.
8. Disassemble children’s things
Putting it on the shelves after washing, throwing away the old or worn-out – usually mothers do it all. However, imagine again this situation: Mom is not at home for a couple of days, she is on a business trip, and tights are already hanging from the children’s locker and chest of drawers, shirts are protruding, T-shirts are winking. Putting things in order – what is not an occupation for a dad with a child?
9. Bathe the baby
Give mom’s back a rest, bathe the baby yourself. This is a great way to get closer to your baby: in the bath, he feels almost like in his mother’s tummy, but he sees and hears you at the same time. And it gets used to it, and it becomes attached, and this connection is mutual.
10. Prepare food
The key word is food, not convenience foods. “My children will be hungry, my husband will also, but it would never even occur to him to get the soup out of the refrigerator and warm it up,” many mothers complain. Such everyday helplessness for an adult, for a parent, is just a shame. Taking care of yourself and your child is a completely normal thing for an adult.
11. Caring for a sick child
Give medicine, make sure that the baby drinks the prescribed amount of liquid, measure the temperature, lull, calm and comfort – and all this without calling mom every three minutes shouting: “Well, where do you go there, the child is sick!” And even if the child has vomited, it is not at all necessary to wait for the mother to clean up after him. She’s not a service staff, but a parent just like you.
12. Change the diaper
George Clooney, who became the father of twins at a fairly mature age, honestly admitted that he himself changes diapers. And he always gets up with his wife for night feedings. And it is clear that he is not lying – George looks rather exhausted. Channing Tatum also boasted about his skill at changing diapers. Are you worse?