Gender Roles

When my first son was born we did not bring him to daycare, but instead a babysitter. Her name was Lily and she was a very nice person. She had great values and I felt that she would take great care of my son (and I was correct – she did).

When I was pregnant with our second child my husband I became very nervous. Although Lily was wonderful, childcare was expensive. It almost made no sense for one of us to work because the second salary was primarily going to pay for childcare. We made the decision that one of us would stay home with our sons. The month my second son was born I graduated with my master’s degree. Because I had invested in my education, and had a clear picture of where I wanted my career to go (my husband was not as certain of his career aspirations at the time), we decided that it was best if I worked and my husband stayed home with the boys.

I am very proud of the choice my husband and I made. Although I wish I could have stayed home with my children, I know that having my husband stay home with them was the best decision. I was able to have a career and be a mom, my husband and I were able to avoid daycare costs, and my husband was able to begin a business that he loves (now that the kids are in school he is able to focus on his career as well).

My husband is the greatest father I ever met, but despite this he often did get stares or funny looks when he explained to someone that he was a stay-at-home dad. It is sad that my husband received these looks because the number of men who are assuming the role of caretaker has increased greatly over the last decade. According to the Pew Research Center (2014), fathers represent a growing share of all at-home parents (16% in 2012, up from 10% in 1989). According to Miller (2014) this “shift reveals a structural change in gender roles in families and at work in the United States”. I wish individuals had an open mind about gender roles, because I believe that as time goes on there will no longer going to be traditional roles in a family, and we all should be accepting of the shifts.

References

Pew Research Center. (June 2014). Growing number of dads home with the kids: Biggest increase among those caring for family. Retrieved from http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/06/05/growing-number-of-dads-home-with-the-kids/.

Miller, C.C. (June 6, 2014). More fathers who stay at home by choice. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/06/upshot/more-fathers-who-stay-at-home-by-choice.html
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Certainly if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith (1 Timothy 5:8).