how much she was depressed because she had to give up her career. She spent all her time with our kids. And I said, “Okay, I’m now a stay at home dad. Go get a job and show them what you’re made of, baby.”
And everything seems fine, but all these 7 years, men have been coming up to me and saying stuff like, “Your wife left you with the kids again, didn’t she?” or “What did you do wrong that you deserve this, mate?” And women would kick me out of parents’ room and treat me like I’m worthless.
And single mothers all think I’m a single dad because there’s no other reason for a man to be a parent. Except my kids love having me around. I’m a good cook, and after running a landscaping crew, I can handle 5 kids and still get the housework done.
He wanted to demonstrate to her that it’s okay to audition for something that you don’t think you’re going to make. She ended up not only just making it, but she got the part of the Chip. My husband got the part of Maurice, Belle’s father. He didn’t even want to be in a goddamn play.
- When my son was in the hospital, it made so much more sense for my husband to stay with him because he doesn’t drive, I could get there in 20 minutes, but it would have taken him over an hour and only one of us were allowed to stay. The entire time, he was either questioned whether Mum was involved or ridiculously praised for staying with him.
When our son was born my husband stayed with us from when we went in until kicking out time on the ward, they literally couldn’t believe he hadn’t gone home yet. I mean, his first child had just been born, and he wanted to be involved whilst I recovered from being sliced open, and a tiny human yanked from my womb. The next day, the nurse came to me and said they’d never seen a dad stay as long as he did in 20 years of working on maternity. - When my daughter and I go out, it’s always a problem to go to the toilet together. So, I go straight to the accessible toilet. If someone suddenly asks me why I go there, I surprise them with the counter question, “Which one should we use then?” And while they’re trying to come up with an answer, I’m off.
- I’ve got an 8-month-old son and my partner has been really struggling with postnatal depression, and she has a lot going on, so for 8 months I have been doing the majority of the looking after and caring for our son. Don’t get me wrong, she does a great job, she’s just struggling mentally a bit currently. I end up doing everything.
Whenever we go to see people or whatever, and I change his nappy people are always like, “Oh, you’re on nappy duties, that’s good” and I can sense that they think I’m doing it because we’re out, and I’m trying to look good. My partner will get the “you’re doing an amazing job as a mother!” And I’ll just get the classic, “Dad’s doing a good job too” as if they almost forgot about me.
- I lived with my mother and stepfather. My stepdad was like a father to me since I was 3 years old. At the age of 15, I started to slip seriously in my studies, I partied 24/7.
My stepdad tried to sort out the situation, and we ended up fighting. He tried to reason with me, and I in my youthful maximalism yelled at him, “You are not my father!” That’s how a 15-year-old girl brought a 40-year-old man to tears. I’m still ashamed. - I divorced my husband. After a while I started having fights with my daughter who kept saying that her father was good, and I am a monster and do everything wrong. I sent her to live with her father and thought that after a month they would both cry from each other. But it’s been a year!
The daughter feels happy there, they don’t fight. She has even started getting better grades at school, and the ex got back in shape — they go to the gym together now. I visited them recently, their house is clean. Although, they both only made a mess when we all lived together. - My husband was refused entry to the pool. My daughter is 4 months old, and my husband stays at home with her. He wanted to join the infant swimming group, but they wouldn’t let him, saying, “Our mums will feel uncomfortable around you.”
- I remember working at the reception desk in a gym, and a father and his daughter came up to me asking where they could change. I was confused, of course. There were no family changing rooms at the time, so I had to send them to an empty solarium.
- I came to the pool and saw the following: at the entrance to the women’s shower room, 2 little girls, 3 and 5 years old, were standing holding hands, afraid to go in. There is no door to the shower room, and around its corner stands their father, shouting, “Go, don’t be afraid, ask any woman to turn on the shower.” I thought then how inconvenient it is for fathers — they can’t change clothes together with their kids and those are out of their sight for a long time.
- My wife and I had a daughter. I work remotely. So when my wife started going crazy on maternity leave, I let her go back to work — part-time at first. But in the meantime, our baby girl was growing up and demanding more attention. I had to take more and more time off work.
Meanwhile, my wife’s career took off, and she started begging me to let her work full-time. I was angry, but I realized that I didn’t want to deprive my significant other of this chance. So I officially went on paternity leave.
For 6 months that I’ve stayed with the baby, people around me divided into 2 groups: many of them supported me, but some of my friends didn’t approve. However, when I carry my daughter from a walk, who now weighs almost 30 pounds, and also grocery bags, even I find it hard. So, I think I made the right choice.
