A kick in the pants - If men/fathers want equal rights in the home and as parents - they must participate equally

hamstertamer · 2008-09-12T21:52:49+00:00

How can you participate equally when the state only allows you see your children once a month?

daisy0808 · 2008-09-12T19:15:18+00:00

This is a very interesting article. I am a very fortunate wife - my husband fully participates in the domestic arena. We truly share responsibilities - in fact, we split our parental leave to stay home with our son equally - 6 months each.

I believe in Canada, the generation of men having children right now is blessed by our parental leave policy. Women still have to take the first 17 weeks, but the remaining 35 can be divided amongst the parents whichever way they wish. (This is a paid leave)

So, I'm seeing a lot more couples sharing this leave - which means men are getting the opportunity to be the primary caregiver for the infant. The impact I've seen is tremendous - any Dad I know that has done it has become incredible active in the care. They are fiercely devoted, and as couples, both know exactly what caring for a child means. I think this policy has made a big difference in the equalization. I t has also made a difference in child custody, since it's pretty difficult to ignore a stay at home Dad - with the government records to prove it.

modix · 2008-09-12T20:29:11+00:00

I'm not sure I fully understand this article. While I'm of a newer generation, ~30, I find it odd to think that men nowadays DON'T take equal responsibilities in the home.

Obviously there was going to have to be a time of transition from women running the home to equal share, but from my standpoint, outside the delusions of the entertainment realm, the transition is pretty far along.

While there are still some obvious role issues that are backlogged from history, I think the IDEA that things need to be equal is prevalent. My wife and I have done a pretty good job of splitting things up. At times either of us can be too busy (she's in med school currently), and the other bears more of the burden. With both working, it obviously needs to be give and take as people's lives and jobs change.

We don't have kids yet, which is probably where many of the issues start. However, given that she'll probably be in residency when we do have kids (80+ hours a week job), I think I'm going to stay home with the kids and work a part time job. I guess I'm not the normal male completely, but still, I couldn't imagine not doing my part for our family.
I've always had a hatred for outdated traditions and social roles, but I don't think my situation is that abnormal. It just takes a couple generations to clear out old ideas.

Title	A kick in the pants - If men/fathers want equal rights in the home and as parents - they must participate equally
Author	[deleted]
Upvotes	13
Comments	7
Date	September 12, 2008 4:26 PM UTC (17 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/71447/a_kick_in_the_pants_if_menfathers_want_equal/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/a-kick-in-the-pants-if-menfathers-want-equal.1056674 https://theredarchive.com/post/1056674

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