Work at Home Dads: The Issues They Face and How They Cope
They are willing to give up some of their pay for more time with their families. One of the reason behind these fathers wanting to stay at home with their kids is because their own fathers were emotionally absent during their childhood. And they do not want to see this repeated with their kids. When a father spends quality time with their children, they tend to grow up having higher levels of sociability and a higher level of school performance among children and adolescents.
Since parenting is a shared responsibility, there is no reason why a father can not or should not stay at home with their children. This also includes supporting and respecting your wife. Just because you are home with kids all day, does not mean that you should forget about your wife. You will want to make sure that you still give her the needed love and attention that she deserves. There still are several people who do not agree with this sort of lifestyle.
They feel that a father staying home with the kids is unnatural, and that the children will not be getting the needed love and affection that they deserve. Also do you know that when a stay at home dad tries to return to work it is twice as hard for them, than it is for women doing the same thing? When an employer takes a look at what a stay at home dad has been doing for the last few years, and sees that they have not been employed, they automatically assume it is because they could not find a job. Or they may assume that they just do not want to work, and are only returning now, because of changing circumstances.
Another thing that I would like to point out is that a wife has to remember to give their husband support also. It is not easy for a mom to stay at home with the kid’s all day, so it is equally hard for dads. So when mom comes home from work, she should not only spend time with the kids, but with her husband as well. Moms should make sure that you still help out with some of the housework. Even if it is just making sure to pick up after yourself and the kids.
Of course it does make a difference how many children you have. If you only have one child of course things will be much easier. But if you have more than one the work load is double. Dad’s face not only the issues that stay at home mom’s face, but sometimes much more. So if you are a dad and you are contemplating staying at home with the kids, make sure you weigh the pros and cons, before you make a decision. You may even want to give it a trial run, buy taking a few weeks vacation time, to see how things go, before taking such a big step.
