Don’t call him Mr. Mom… Al Watts is an At-Home Dad. And don’t you forget it.
It happened again.
We were at the furniture store last week. As we strolled the store looking for bedroom furniture for one of the kids’ rooms, the salesman casually asked me what I did for a living.
“I take care of these guys,” I said pointing at our four restless children eagerly hoping I take my eye of them so they can jump on the beds.
“Ah, so you’re a Mr. Mom!” the salesman exclaimed.
“No,” I corrected him, “I’m an at-home dad,” which is my not-so-subtle way of saying I don’t appreciate being called “Mr. Mom.”
This is a conversation I have had frequently over the last 9 and a half years of being an at-home dad.
It’s getting old.
Last time I checked it was 2012. Being an at-home dad is nothing new anymore. Thirty-two percent of dads take care of the kids while mom works for crying out loud!
And yet almost everyone I meet considers me to be a “Mr. Mom,” like from the 1983 movie starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr.
Yeah, 1983… 29 freakin’ years ago!
Now, if I were to refer to an administrative assistant as a “Working Girl,” referencing the movie staring Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford from 1988, I’d get slapped in the face.
I want to slap people who call me “Mr. Mom” in the face!
C’mon! Have you not gotten yourselves into the 21st century? Do you not realize how much it emasculates at-home dads by calling them “Mr. Mom?” It’s like asking your buddy if his skirt got in the way when he hits a weak golf shot; a vile put-down that suggests a man is less than a man by calling him a woman. It’s not cool. There is nothing feminine about taking care of and loving your own kids.
There are a few who are starting to realize this. The new movie “What To Expect When You’re Expecting” shows a lot of involved fathers but never once calls them “Mr. Mom.” A few months ago, a grocery store clerk assumed I was an at-home dad when I was checking out with our four kids on a Tuesday afternoon instead of asking me if it was “daddy’s day” as if I was on rare “babysitting duty.”
However, most people still can’t see it. All they see is a cute reference to an OLD popular movie (I know, 1983!). They don’t understand how completely inaccurate that image is of at-home dads of today. They don’t see the damage it does to the confidence of at-home dads who are in a role that is contrary to social norms.
That’s why I say it’s time to abolish “Mr. Mom” as a term for at-home dads. It’s time for this movie and its inferences of incompetent fathering to go straight to the fires of hell!
At-home dads are not doing women’s work or acting as a substitute for mom until she gets home.
We are dads. We are at home. We are raising our children well.
And we love it.
So pack up your “Mr. Mom” with your leg warmers and your mullet and your Rubik’s Cube.
Get into the 21st century, man, and start using the more accurate term for a father who is the primary caregiver:
“AT-HOME DAD.”
Great Piece, Al! You’re so right, many people still have traditional ideas of what being a father is about. By doing what you do, you show to your kids that caregiving is as much a man’s job as it is a woman’s job (just like working and realizing your passions and dreams is as much a woman’s job as it is a man’s job). Apart from our strong and powerful side, we – men – need to get in touch with our other side: Our intuition and deepest feelings. Caring for our kids is a wonderful way of doing just… Read more »
yes it must be VERY EMASCULATING to be compared to woman. After all, you’re WAY BETTER than “those”
This is a great article. It is outdated and sexist to assume it is the woman’s role to raise the children. Men are not too lazy or selfish to care for their kids.
Working fathers care for kids, and have done so for many decades. The fact that a mother and/or father has a job outside the home doesn’t mean they don’t care for their kids.
This is a great article. It is unfortunate that people still think raising kids is only a woman’s job. They seem to assume men are unwilling or too dumb to raise children. It is such an unhealthy way of thinking. It is bad for men, women and children.
“Thirty-two percent of dads take care of the kids while mom works for crying out loud!”
But, child care is not 32% of fathers’ full time jobs. Actually, I doubt that only 32% of fathers participate in child care. That would mean that 68% don’t ever even wipe a nose or pour a bowl of cereal. Very hard to believe.
Eric, I think you misunderstood. The definition of “Primary Caregiving Father” by the U.S. Census is a father who is the “regular source of care for their children under age 15.” This is up from 26% just 5 years earlier and virtually 0% in 1983 when “Mr. Mom” came out. Absolutely, many dads participate in childcare beyond those who are primary caregivers. My brother, is one great example. There are no statistics on that specifically but I know of a study by the Boston College Center for Work & Family that found working dads “were deeply committed to care-giving and… Read more »
But, don’t both parents provide ‘regular sources of care for their children under age 15’? My father always worked full time, plus spending at least an hour commuting, but my mother was no more “primary” than him.
Raising children is far more than wiping snotty noses and changing diapers. That part is easy; you can hire a teenager to do it just as well as any mother of father. However, I don’t believe for a second that “dads are doing the majority of caregiving.” Parenting from double digits on up is harder than the stuff done by/for pre-school age kids.