Deadbeat Dads

Why is it that in this day and age men still don’t get involved with their children?

I recently spent two lovely weeks with a beautiful newborn and her parents. They are excited by her every little movement and spend hours staring at her to see what she will do next. Even her vomit is cute.

Her mom looks after her while her dad spends the day at work. When he gets home it’s his turn to take over the childcare while mom relaxes a bit. He is excited to get home at the end of the day to see her. He is in love with his daughter, and will play with her and burp her and comfort her when she cries.

This is normal behaviour for a new dad, right? Why would anyone be surprised that he’s taking care of his own child?

Yet the nurse who conducts home visits to newborns and mothers in the area is surprised how involved the dad is. She told the mom that there are a lot of dads she has met who don’t do much at all.

Excuse me fellas, but you are just as capable as any mother and can do everything she can to look after your baby. Men can even feed babies if they use bottles (formula or breast-pumped)!

It seems like dads are still praised for just showing up because people assume they will do nothing and it’s a miracle when they do anything at all.

But that’s not the way it should be. Dads should take a equal responsibility for raising their children.

If you can’t be bothered to do your part while wife/girlfriend/partner recovers from childbirth, then how are you going to manage to care for another tiny human for the next 18 years? If you don’t think it’s part of your responsibility as the sperm-donor, then you probably should have used a condom!

Contact the author here: mack@morningquickie.com