I haven’t seen Mr. Mom so I don’t know how the father is portrayed in it, but I was pretty much raised by my father. (Pretty much meaning my parents were divorced when I was 6 and I lived with my dad) Never did I refer to him as Mr. Mom. He was just my father; my loving, caring, providing father. Of course there were many hard and confusing times between us, partly because he was delving into territories that a mother most typically satisfies, but most probably because confusion and hard times were bound to happen anyway. i.e. those special teenage years for girls.

My father and I are extremely close today. He’s been the most influential person in my life and he did a wonderful job raising my brother and I. Although I’m sure he’d say it would have been ten times easier having a “mother” around, I’m not convinced. I’m proud to call him my Dad.

Not sure what brought you to this topic of “Mr. Mom” but I found it ironic considering I saw myself coming to the defense of fathers this week. A SAHM blog friend of mine from Wisconsin has her hands full with several children at home and a deteriorating marriage. She deems herself “old-fashioned” in that she believes it is the role of the mother to stay at home and raise children. She posted in a recent blog this emotional and layered declaration that I couldn’t let pass….

“Cuz guys suck at raising kids – lets face it!”

(Obviously there must be a lot behind that statement.) Here is how I responded:

Whoa. Uh….I take offense to this declaration. I understand that it’s your opinion and point of view which your entitled to….but do you really want to put that out there? Even if you’re joking….that’s just not right.

I know your point of view comes from where you’re at in life and what you’ve been exposed to but at the same time I want to encourage you to look outside what you know. For the record, I’m no exception and I don’t consider myself to be any amazing father but I work at providing an environment of fun, love, encouragement, sacrifice, education, respect, disicipline and spirituality for my daughter. But I couldn’t do it alone. That I know. Of course I would if I had to but rit’s eassuring to know that my wife needs me to help her raise our girl just as much as I need her (and boy do I need her!)

There are plenty of “deadbeat dads” out there….and mothers….as well as any other guardians raising children. Poor and negligent parenting is not exclusive to any sex, age or color. Unfortunately, it just exists and is a result of many factors such as: immaturity, abuse, selfishness, economic despair, a void of any faith in one’s life, and/or an endless cycle of dysfunctional behavior that is passed on and not dealt with….to name a few.

Even if you consider yourself old-fashioned, I’m sure you’d agree that the demands and responsibilites of staying at home and raising a family can take a toll on any man….or woman.