Dads who stay home

imgres-1There was a great article in the NYX about two Brooklyn men who stayed home to raise their kids. One of their wives were concerned about her husband being lonely.  How many other men were home raising their kids?  Ends up there was another guy in the neighborhood.

These two guys bonded just like the Mom’s who stay home.  They did playdates, they went places with the kids, they were playing the role that more women play than  men.  Fast forward, the kids are getting ready to enter pre-school so where does that leave the two Dads?  They are feeling unsure of their days.

So many Mom’s go back to work but their priorities have changed so work life will have to change too.  Life is scary.

What I loved about this article is what one of the men said about his feelings around work after being an at home Dad.  He said he couldn’t go back to some 9-5 job with two weeks vacation.  It doesn’t fit into what he has established or how he wants to live his life.  He is going to have to find something that he wants to do that fits into the way it will work for the family.

Perhaps an at-home Dad becomes entrepreneur in the making?

 

Comments (Archived):

  1. awaldstein

    You should interview my friend Robin Harper on this if inclined.Robin was the marketing brains behind the Simm City gaming franchise and way back then she and her husband made the choice for him to stay home with the kids.Exceptional women and a great friend.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Love Simm City. I always thought it was a genius game. Our kids played for hours together especially roller coaster tycoon. Lots of lessons learned in that game.

      1. awaldstein

        There were four women at that time who drove the brands behind Simm City, behind Broderbund, behind Lucas Arts and behind Interplay.All my counterparts and friends.I was super fortunate in the beginning of my career to be surrounded with powerful tech women on the client side and also on the VC side with Ann Wimblad and Heidi Roizen.Formative for me and I learned a lot.

        1. Pranay Srinivasan

          Broderbund used to build some amazing games in the 90s!!

  2. lisa hickey

    This is awesome. What I see is that there has been almost no bigger generational change that has happened recently than the move of fathers to become more active, engaged, and visible parents and partners in parenting instead of slipping quietly into the role of “breadwinner” because that is the way things had been in the past. It is such a great thing, and, IMO, we will never get equality on ALL fronts until this becomes more widespread. It is so great to see it becoming a part of the larger cultural conversation. Thanks for helping to spark that Joanne. You got at the essence of the story beautifully.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Things are changing.

  3. Susan Rubinsky

    Interesting. I dated a guy who had been a stay at home Dad. His wife had been the breadwinner. When he got divorced, he was faced with an extreme drop in household income and the quandary of how to re-enter the workforce. Even when the marriage doesn’t work out, I think that the more that men experience the realities that most women face in their lives, the more compassion and understanding there will be for workplace change and policy change.

    1. Gotham Gal

      Absolutely

  4. Kirsten Lambertsen

    My husband was the stay-at-home parent before my son went to school. His parents kept asking him when he was going to get off his butt and get a job. And his mother had been a stay at home mom!Mr. Kirsten has always been very empathetic, but being the stay-at-home expanded his capacity even more. The very first day he said, “I have no idea how single working mothers do this.”