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men who change diapers change the world


Friday, 2 March 2007
Expired: MommyWars - Tired: BetaMale - Wired: MomBlocker
Topic: articles

       

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)

momblocker
?noun
a dad having a strong need to control his wife.

[Origin: March 12, 2007 - Amy Sohn]
New York Magazine article Unabridged (v 1.0)

 

 

Today's new made up word is Momblocker.  It's courtesy of  Amy Sohn who will show it off in next weeks New York Magazine article In short a momblocker is a control-freak dad.  Amy defines them as the men you see chastising their wives for not dressing the baby warmly enough or using only the three-point latch in the stroller, not the five. They insist on pushing the stroller on family outings, they crowd their kids on the jungle gyms, they spend hours online researching high chairs. Somewhere along the line, Mom gave up her automatic veto power?and Dad seized it for himself.  As proof that these dads exist she interviewed Greg Allen of Daddytypes who actually does spend hours online researching high chairs.  Sohn notes that Allen became a de facto momblocker during the first three months of his daughter?s life, when he and his wife stayed home to care for her. ?We decided that I would do EBB?everything but breast-feeding?to help her out. It was so much easier for her to let me change the diaper and give the kid a bath than to do it herself and risk screwing up. It took a lot of effort for her finally to say, ?I need to learn how to do this now.'   

Coincidently, (amazingly?) Allen was also quoted last year to discuss the opposite theory in a Time article titled ?When Moms are Gatekeepers?. (These are moms who ask for help but tell hubby exactly how they want it done).  In it Po Bronson quotes him as saying,  A pattern is established in childbirth and breastfeeding that can be hard to break, The mother becomes the expert first, then cringes as she watches her husband awkwardly stumble through his learning curve. As she hears the cries of her fragile infant, she can't help but interrupt.  

As for the new word? Amy actually thought of it in response to this same Time piece, where Bronson states, As many as a quarter of all new moms are actually blocking their husbands' attempts at involved fathering.  

Oh and another thing about that sentence. A quarter of all new moms? I'd like to know where that statistic come from.... but if it were true, 75% of us must be Momblockers.

 

 

 

Posted by athomedad at 12:56 PM EST
Updated: Friday, 2 March 2007 1:22 PM EST
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Thursday, 16 June 2005
The search for the perfect at-home dad
Topic: articles
Taking a quick google news check with the keyword

Sharon Jayson of USA Today tapped several blogs, at-home dad playgoups members, myself. and the National Center for Fathering several weeks ago looking for the perfect dad in the Maryland area. The search was tough as she was looking for one of the 98,000 dads who fit the definition of an at-home dad. Her frantic week-long search came up with Michael Paranzino of Bethesda who writes his Full Time Father Blog.  He got the full USA Today treatment in today's issue with a full day interview profile, a photographer who tagged along for the day resulting in a nice audio gallery show complete with Mike's narration. A sidebar was also added repeating the 98K number and comparing it to a staggering 5.4 million stay-at-home moms stat. She threw in a quote from Yale researcher Kyle Pruett who agreed that kids of at-home dads, feel loved, adored and treasured but says at-home dads will always be a small segment.... .I don't see us having mass societal shifts in that direction.... our society wants men working hard and making lots of money.  I agree to a point with Pruett as dads who don't make a penny will probably remain scarce.. However you can't ignore the increasing number dads who make a few bucks on ebay  to pay for the diapers.


Posted by athomedad at 9:30 AM EDT
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Monday, 20 December 2004
I am a Bum
Topic: articles
New Page 1

Here's an excellent Monday morning read from Tom Chartier out of  LewRockwell.com. Tom played lead guitar in legendary Los Angeles punk band The Rotters for 26 years  It's titled I am a Bum, and proves that this guy  is the ultra coolest at home dad of all.

Here's an excerpt:

You see I've managed to weasel my way into a couple of coveted situations and if weaseling your way into things isn't The American Way I don't know what is. First, I'm a house husband. My job is to hang out with my son. Oh sure, this means I won't get the penthouse suite, a company limo and will never get to sit with Wayne Gretzky in his luxury box at the Staples Center but I don't really care. I will also never get to make underlings squirm in terror at the thought of being told their services will no longer be required, but "say hello to the wife and kids and don't forget the fruit basket on your way out." Oh sure, it's a sacrifice but I am willing to make it. Oddly enough, unlike most of the big Kahunas out there standing center-ring running the show, these things don't give me any satisfaction. I don't even enjoy humiliating people, ruining lives or squashing bugs. So I guess there's no point in me running for office but...I don't care! And of course as Mr. Mom, I have to go to the store, do the laundry, clean the house and cook dinner. So what? I go to the store and come back with a heap of steaks, ribs, grillin' salmon flanks, corn on the cob, charcoal, ice-cream bars and cases of beer. Real American men live for these things. Do we ever let our wives even touch the BBQ? Hell no! That's our turf! And, I do not come home with broccoli, cauliflower or meat loaf fixins! Yeah, I gotta make the spawn do his homework but again so what? I don't sweat the small stuff. Whadaya mean you didn't get it done?! Oh well, neither did I and I'm a huge success. So let's go work on that balsa wood airplane kit and see if it flies. I do what most American men fear in their worst nightmares breaking out in a cold sweat, I take care of the house and kids! NO!!!! Well, let me tell you, they don't know what they are missing. read entire article 


Posted by athomedad at 10:24 AM EST
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