Quit Saying Dads ‘Babysit’ Their Kids

On two separate occasions, I went away for overnight trips with my girlfriends. I heard it both times.
“Who’s watching the kids?”

I have three children with my husband. He has been a dad for almost a decade. We all live together.
Why would “their father” not be the obvious answer?

My husband has taken multiple week-long business trips and I guarantee you that not a single person asked him who was watching his kids. It was assumed that I was.

This mindset that a mother “parents” but a dad “babysits” has got to stop. People may not realize it, but by asking these questions they are perpetrating the ridiculous idea that fathers are incompetent when it comes to parenting alone.

I’m thankful that my husband recognizes this nonsense and shuts it down. When someone once said, “Oh, you’re babysitting today?” he was quick to say, “No. I’m with MY kids today.”

That’s not to say he isn’t getting

paid as if he were the babysitter. He gets paid in compliments I would never receive as a mother. He gets adoring looks from women and comments like, “what a great dad!”

And he is! He is a great dad. But not because he sometimes supervises the children without my help.

If that makes someone a “great dad,” the bar is set pretty low and we need to raise our standards.

I have taken all three of my children to the pool, the zoo, the park, and the grocery store on my own and all I hear is, “you’ve got your hands full.”

I’m not saying we should stop giving parents compliments. We all could use a little encouragement, because parenting is hard. Let’s just recognize it’s hard for ALL of us, because the responsibilities of parenthood should be evenly distributed and evenly praised.