Saturday, June 22, 2013

Repost: Three cheers for great dads

I've contributed to the Orlando Sentinel's Moms at Work blog since 2010. The blog is changing content management systems and my old posts will no longer be available to the public, so I'm reposting them here, in the order that they were originally posted.


May 16, 2012 Let's hear it for involved dads!

I'm sure you know men who are more involved in their children's lives than their own fathers would ever have dreamed of being -- and the statistics show that those devoted dads are growing in number.

A U.S. Census Bureau report shows that about 32 percent of dads with children younger than 15 are regularly involved in childcare responsibilities, according to the Wall Street Journal.

I know, I know. That's less than a third. Given that barely a quarter of dads could say the same thing ten years ago, though, I think that's a statistic worth praising. As the trend picks up steam, maybe the percentage of dads with routine childcare responsibilities will be up to half by 2022.

The problem for these active dads is that they're now realizing that they have to work at the same things that have concerned their wives all these years: How do you remain a go-getter at work while giving enough time to your kids, maintaining your own health and making sure that your marriage stays fresh? It's never been easy for working moms, and working dads are now finding that the juggle takes more of their time and energy too.

You know what? I'm OK with that. I'm confident that just as women have found ways to rise to that challenge, men will do the same.

Good luck, dads!

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