The National Statistical Office out of Korea reported last Sunday, that at-home dads in their country has risen to 151,000, 40% more over the last three years. One statistic that stood out were the women were getting more jobs (507,000) then the men (428,000).

Looking at other countries, I decided to use Google maps to track all the stats, research, blogs and relevant news world wide. Above is my first weak effort  with just a few countries. (click the map to get it jump started) I will put more info in there as it comes in.  In the future you can get to this map by clicking the statistic link on the top of this screen. You can also transfer it to google earth by clicking the KML link on the larger map  

 If you have any info to share, or would like to see any other information posted on the map, let me know.  - pete

 

Peggy Drexler over at the all powerful Huffington Post gave the At-Home Dad Convention a nice plug.

She didn't raise any new points as she reminded us of the low US census numbers and put out a reminder not to call us Mr Mom. But she did note the emerging evidence that moms have the last word around the house wether they are there or not. 

Using her husband as her anecdotal evidence she writes:

My husband was between jobs for a number of months and took over the care and chauffeuring of our young daughter. Before long, I was eyeing him the way white corpuscles eye a splinter. Out!

We're past the days when men could handle two TV remotes the way the Earp brothers handled their pistols at the OK Corral - yet be mystified by the three dials on a washing machine. Still they are more likely to apply the five second rule (anything dropped that is not on the floor for more than five seconds is ok to eat), mismatch an occasional school outfit and are secure in the belief that dishes left in a sink for the afternoon do not cause Ebola. There can be a nagging feeling on the part of moms that, in their absence, things might not be running with mom-like precision.

I think many of us, including moms are guilty of using the 5 second rule (I use 10 seconds), not matching my kids clothes, and leave a few dirty dishes now and then. But if thats all thats left for moms to leave that nagging feeling behind, I say that's progress!

Am I saying that more dads staying home to take care of the kids is a mistake? Not at all. It's wonderful. But I am saying it's not a slam-dunk swap.

None the less, I viewed it as positive article, but be warned we are on double secret probation. 

Would have been nice if she gave the convention a link though.  

[ref: The Huffington Post]

 

 

 

Sometimes it takes a smart kid, and a great post from one to remind us how we look in their eyes:

   Its Funny how something tragic can actually bring people closer then they ever were. For example, Michael had had a “hard” life, with a tiresome job. He was also not really able to see his kids or wife. But, in 1995 his life became even harder when he was diagnosed with (which is a lack of a certain enzyme in the body). Then in 1999 at the age of 39 it was found that Michael’s kidneys were no longer working and he was in need of a transplant. He could no longer work and had to be on a dialysis machine. In 2000, he received a transplant and could be free from the machine he had to be connected to early in the morning and late at night. It was said that he would die at the age of 40 like most people who suffer from Fabry’s disease, but because of the excellent treatment, he is living strong at the age of 47.

    If you haven’t guessed already, this man Michael is my dad. He means so much to me that I don’t know what I’d do without the strange jokes he uses to gross out my friends and I or even his obsession over electronics and super heroes. The main reason he is my unsung hero is because of his will to live. There are a lot of symptoms of Fabry disease such as: damaging of the nerves in the body, severe depression, and/or short term memory loss, but he tries his best to live each day. He still doesn’t work and is Mr. Mom for the household and I think that men of any age should learn from him. He is a loving respecting husband, father, and friend to his loved ones and I know I would be no where without him.

     The day my dad got called in for his kidney everything was in chaos. My mom was off the walls. I was balling my eyes out, my next door neighbors were cheering and my dad was just smiling. It was like something in the bible where the battle of St. Michael and the devil would be. My dad was St. Michael and the devil dragon was the disease. He likes to tell that story because of the tattoo on his leg. My dad’s favorite part of the story is when St. Michael wins. He is like St. Michael because he is strong but, not just physically. He is also strong mentally and emotionally.

     There were days I would break down and cry because daddy had to go to the hospital again. I was so afraid he wouldn’t come back that I would think to the future and see me sad without him there beside me. Most of all I remember crying because I thought about how daddy and I couldn’t dance at my wedding. It was a bad way to think but that’s what people do when they are worried, they think bad thoughts. When he went to an infusion, just for 2-3 hours, I would sit home and look back on the afternoons we would go get sushi from our favorite restaurant or go out driving and never know where we’d end up. Its days like those people take for granted but I could never do that. He is only one man, and he can only live once. He is my daddy, my father, my unsung hero.

[Manda1941 blog, and post]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Last week both Time and Newsweek did the same old “new dad” story.

With the new dad getting older (37) according to a U Texas survey and the age of Time/Newsweek readers slipping closer to their age (44), it appears that the news magazines will be covering new dads more cause new dads are getting older.  (Got that?) 

 Now I understand it’s difficult not using the same references (and sometimes even the same cover) when serving the same demographics, but it was fun to ferret out the similarities.  With this in mind here’s a formula to help reporters who will be writing this story for the Time/Newsweek demographics for the uncoming Father's day season.

Recipe for the new-dad story

1. Take a look back on how good old dad wasn‘t there.

2. The negative reactions to at-home dads

3. Note how involved the new dad is.

4. Slam the “Mr Mom” comment. (no complaint here)

5. 2-5 Stats on at-home dads and involved dads. (you may use as many as 5 )

6. And a new twist here: Take a small poke at the daddy blogs after you get some info out of them when you close the article.

Below is the breakdown.

The Title

Time:  Fatherhood 2.0

Newsweek:  Just Don't Call Me Mr. Mom


The Theme

Time:  Men today are far more involved with their families than they have been at virtually any other time in the last century

Newsweek: Men more involved in child care than ever


The mention of the "old dad"

Time:  it wasn't so long ago that a man was that strong and silent fellow over there at the bar with the dry martini or a cold can of beer--a hardworking guy in a gray flannel suit or blue-collar work shirt.

Newsweek: My dad is a surgeon and worked hard to provide for my brother and me. Even now, he is out of the house most days by 7 or 8 a.m. and at work for the next 12 hours. My brother and I never wanted for anything materially. But the corollary to all those hours: we didn't see a whole lot of Dad during the week. Even on weekends, he'd go on rounds.


The at-home dad reaction

Time: "There are definitely some guys who look at me and think, 'What's up with him?'

Newsweek:  "What do you do all day?" and  "When are you going back to work?


The Statistics

Time:

The number of stay-at-home fathers has tripled in the past 10 years. The Census counts less than 200,000, but those studying the phenomenon say it's probably 10 times that number. (US Census)

The average dad spent about a third as much time with his kids as the average mom did. By 2000, that was up to three-fourths. (U Michigan)

Newsweek:

Same 2 used

The "Mr Mom" comment

Time:  From Michael Keaton in the 1983 movie Mr. Mom to Adam Sandler in Big Daddy (1999) to Eddie Murphy in Daddy Day Care (2003), the sight of a man caught in the act of parenting has been a reliable laugh getter--always a good indicator of what the culture considers uncomfortable material.

Newsweek: He rallies against Martha Stewart Living's "Mr. Mom Show"


Mention of Daddy Blogs?

Time? Yes - And it wasn't so long ago that a man was that strong and silent fellow over there at the bar with the dry martini .....He sired children, yes, but he drew the line at diapering them....he didn't review bottle warmers on his daddy blog...

Newsweek? Yes -  Sure, you'll have to endure the occasional hipster dad who slaps a Sex Pistols decal on his $800 Bugaboo stroller. Some of us will....diligently document our every self-important, profanity-laced insight on our blogs.

Another observation: The stories of the 50’s dad being at work all day gives the impression that our nuclear dads were simply not there at all emotionally. My dad went to work all day, but he was there for me at night and on weekends. To put things in perspective, here’s a quote in an article in Life Magazine titled My wife works and I like it.

Like any husband of a working wife Jim has to shoulder a large share of the housework, “I don’t mind it as long as we all pitch in” he says. “We all live here so why shouldn’t we all help out? The children, Jim feels actually benefit. “We make it a point to be with the kids more”

The date of the article? Dec 24, 1956 in Life’s Special Issue on the Working women.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Sure maybe they didn’t change the diapers or do the dishes, and neither did my dad, but I think current media should gives them a bit more emotional credit that they offer. Something tells me these dads didn’t get surveyed in 1956

.FYI:  Dana Glazer and Dallas Hayes (who is a subject in Glazer’s upcoming movie The Evolution of Dad) were liberally interviewed by Lisa Cullen of Time but didn’t make the hardcopy cut, however, they did get a nice mention in Lisa's Cullen’s blog.


[ref: time, newsweek, time blog]

 A lot can change in 100 years, or can it? South Western Baptist Theological University is kicking off their 100th year by introducing a 23 hour course in homemaking as part of their BA in Humanities.

Apparently God has been looking at the wrong census numbers because men are not allowed to take the course.  The cataloge description notes it will prepare women to model the characteristics of the godly women as outlined in scripture.  They intend to do this by making sure we can sew, or as they put it Clothing Construction with lab.  

Not that I would join the class, I took home Economics in Junior High (boys had to take it) and the only thing I remember was to watch for the bubbles so I would know when to flip the pancakes.  It was fun but that was enough for me.

I can't even imagine any women clamering to take this course.  Julia Heathcote over at the Ethical Palaeontologist isn't too excited about it either:

 I don't think I'm angry about it. As long as I'm never expected to cross paths with a graduate of that class they may as well do a degree that's going to further segregate themselves from the rest of society. I'm a bit non-plussed by the fact that it is only open to women, but I assign this to the same internal directory as all that surrendered wife bollocks. But Jesus H Christ on a bike - what a thoroughly boring class to take when there are so many more useful and interesting subjects, even at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ref: SWBT cataloge, The Daily Targum at Rutgers, The Ethical Palaeontologist]

Check out Chicago Pop's fabulous lead-in over at Daddy Dialectic. It starts out like a playboy forum fantasy should and ends like... a well....

Coming home from work to find your wife nude in the living room is supposed to be one of the classic male heterosexual fantasies. So I naturally wondered if the reverse might be true when, at about 6:30 one evening, I stood naked at the top of the stairs as my wife came in the door below..... [more]

Playgroup Update: I've added 3 new playgroups to the playgroup list, The MatSu Dads  Anchorage Alaska,  Baytown Area Daddy and Me Playgroup  Baytown, Texas (Houston area), and Salem, Oregon. e-mail brentmobley@juno.com.

Is it me? Or are all the celebrity dads "going back to work" at the same time? I really don't mean for this to turn into a celebrity baby blog, but I find myself in the midst of a new trend I just can't ignore, dads who stay with their kid(s) for a year or so, then run off to make/promote their new movie.

The latest celeb-dad* to join the Clooney/Pitt/Cruise gang is Jerry Seinfeld who dropped by Toronto's Varsity Cinema and offered his take on parenting to the Theater audience before showing a few teasers of his new film "Bee Movie":

I was one of those guys who just didn't get it,” he acknowledged, saying he was mystified by watching parents push strollers around and the idea of living with another person who “craps in their pants while looking you right in the eye.

“I love the kids,” he added, but said he still has a hard time with the endless chain of reciprocal birthday parties, at which “I envy the piñata.”

Children “don't like to see humans on screen,” but enjoy cartoon characters with human behaviour, he said.

He said bees seemed a natural choice: “They have an office, they have a product, they have bosses. … [They have] a little corporation, hanging from a tree.”

Then there's Richard Gere who had plenty to say about Fatherhood while promoting Hunting Party which came out a few days ago, And on Friday The Rock comes with Disney's  The Game Plan: "In my movie I play a superstar quarterback who suddenly discovers the kids he never knew he had"

You  get the idea, I'll skip the research on the last two movies I gotta take my kids to marching band practice. (Watch for my movie in 2010.)

* celeb-dad will be my new made up word if this is a new trend. (watch out you mom-blockers)

[ref: The Boston Visit, Globe and Mail]

Add Michael Douglas to the growing list of celebrities joining the at-home dad ranks while mom takes her turn in the spotlight. A reporter out of nottingham reported that the Wall Street star has apparently "confessed"  that he is now an at-home dad to his two kids Dylan (7) and Carys (4) while Catherine Zeta-Jones (38!) rakes in the cash. Says Douglas (63!):

"The kids know what mummy does for a living, but they have never seen daddy's movies, so mummy makes movies and daddy makes pancakes,"

Gorden Gekko's stint as an at-home dad has proved perilous. While scuba diving in Spain, he was zapped by a jelly fish and had to ask son Dylan to take a wizz on him. He shared the moment with Jay Leno:

"My son was there. I said: 'Dylan, please pee-pee on daddy's back.'

"He kinda thought it was a trick question. So he peed and it helped but the problem was that for the rest of the summer he was looking for jellyfish."

Of course with celebrities, these dad stints never seem to last as long as the marriages they are in, he managed to sneak in one indy movie which opened a week or so ago and will start on his Wall Street sequel Money Never Sleeps when the sreenplay is ready at the end of the year.

[ref: The evening post, Nottingham via The Sun (uk).]

Whats a real at-home dad movie with out those "tricky love triangles. "

The latest at-home dad flix starring our favorite office guy Steve Carell starts Oct 26th.

[advance reviews: Daily Film Dose, Dan's Real Life] 

The Mr Mom gang loses their lead singer Richie McDonald. 

[Farwell tour dates]