12 thoughts on “Sorry, sister — dads rule this playground”
Love it! My husband has taken on more of the kid-related and household duties in the last two years. It’s part of the juggling act of two working parents. He happens to have more flexibility at the moment to do these things, whereas I am the “breadwinner” right now. Things will continue to evolve in our household as our home and work needs change. But I think it’s great that we can both be actively involved in our kids’ lives without feeling like we have to succumb to outdated models of parenting.
Our local playground has always been sort of Dad heavy! I wonder if other people are like us- the mom says “I need to get X done, and I can’t be interrupted by the kids. Can you take them for awhile” and the dad defaults to “let’s go to the playground!” In our case, it is at least partly because we know that if the 2.5 yo and I are both in the house, I WILL be interrupted. She will come stand outside the office door saying “Mommy? Mommy!”
For us, it’s not so much the default choice, as much as my husband is concerned about T getting her active, outside time. T is pretty mellow so we really have to give her options to get moving (Little Gym, playground, etc.)
When I need to entertain her or take her out of the house we usually go shopping/run errands, or do an art project in the house. Sigh. I’m so boring 😀
The title of this Chris Ware illustration is “Mother’s Day.” Based on the title, I thought it was saying something completely different–that the dads are there because it’s the moms’ “day off.”
J. — ooh, that is another way to think of it. Though I guess we can wonder what’s going on with the one woman going to the playground then. Single mom and no day off?
We went to the Children’s Museum this morning (benefit of working part-time and my husband having no job right now!) and I was surprised at how many dads were there with their kids. Though I know in Seattle there are a lot of stay at home dads.
Laura, you make a good, hopeful observation. What I also find disconcerting?Playgrounds that are divided between nannies, mothers and an occasional father. That makes not only a gender fault line but a racial/economic one as well.
@Diana- that is a fascinating topic, the nanny/parent split (though that’s not necessarily a racial split — nannies and parents come in many colors!) How people hash that out with playdates is an interesting matter too.
By the way, did anyone else notice that Dyson is running a mother’s day special? 20% off all products. It’s hard to tell what is my bigger pet peeve: wrinkly men degrading women who take birth control or vacuum sales for mother’s day……
When we were living in a more progressive city, and in walking distance to a playground, I seemed to time my playground time with dad’s hour and DH seemed to hit the mommy/nanny time. I think a function of me working full-time and DH working from home. Still, at least dads were taking their kids to playgrounds… unheard of around here.
Love it! My husband has taken on more of the kid-related and household duties in the last two years. It’s part of the juggling act of two working parents. He happens to have more flexibility at the moment to do these things, whereas I am the “breadwinner” right now. Things will continue to evolve in our household as our home and work needs change. But I think it’s great that we can both be actively involved in our kids’ lives without feeling like we have to succumb to outdated models of parenting.
Our local playground has always been sort of Dad heavy! I wonder if other people are like us- the mom says “I need to get X done, and I can’t be interrupted by the kids. Can you take them for awhile” and the dad defaults to “let’s go to the playground!” In our case, it is at least partly because we know that if the 2.5 yo and I are both in the house, I WILL be interrupted. She will come stand outside the office door saying “Mommy? Mommy!”
For us, it’s not so much the default choice, as much as my husband is concerned about T getting her active, outside time. T is pretty mellow so we really have to give her options to get moving (Little Gym, playground, etc.)
When I need to entertain her or take her out of the house we usually go shopping/run errands, or do an art project in the house. Sigh. I’m so boring 😀
The title of this Chris Ware illustration is “Mother’s Day.” Based on the title, I thought it was saying something completely different–that the dads are there because it’s the moms’ “day off.”
J. — ooh, that is another way to think of it. Though I guess we can wonder what’s going on with the one woman going to the playground then. Single mom and no day off?
We went to the Children’s Museum this morning (benefit of working part-time and my husband having no job right now!) and I was surprised at how many dads were there with their kids. Though I know in Seattle there are a lot of stay at home dads.
Laura, you make a good, hopeful observation. What I also find disconcerting?Playgrounds that are divided between nannies, mothers and an occasional father. That makes not only a gender fault line but a racial/economic one as well.
@Diana- that is a fascinating topic, the nanny/parent split (though that’s not necessarily a racial split — nannies and parents come in many colors!) How people hash that out with playdates is an interesting matter too.
By the way, did anyone else notice that Dyson is running a mother’s day special? 20% off all products. It’s hard to tell what is my bigger pet peeve: wrinkly men degrading women who take birth control or vacuum sales for mother’s day……
@Kelly- oy, just what a mom wants. Thanks for your hard work! Here’s a new…vacuum.
When we were living in a more progressive city, and in walking distance to a playground, I seemed to time my playground time with dad’s hour and DH seemed to hit the mommy/nanny time. I think a function of me working full-time and DH working from home. Still, at least dads were taking their kids to playgrounds… unheard of around here.
BabyT goes to a Saturday morning class at the kiddie gym and it’s about 75% dads there or more. Same with weekend swim lessons.