Kirk blAug

Chris shared an article yesterday from USA Today that shows that at least some women think that the things stay at-home dads do gets them in the mood for sex: Stephanie Dulli of Washington, D.C., says "hearing nice things absolutely is romantic and a turn-on." But she's with the 25% who say "seeing your spouse as a great parent" or the almost 20% who say it's when your spouse cleans the house or makes dinner that gets them in the mood for sex. "There is nothing sexier in the world than when my husband is giving the baby a bath without me asking. … If he takes it upon himself to do the dishes or the laundry, that's such an act of service, and that's another way he shows he cares for me. I find it dreamy." Dulli has two sons, ages 3 and 8 months. The rest of the article is a good read too. It exposes a study that shows that, while marital sex is not popularized in pop culture, most married women find it very important in their marriages. It

I have seen a bit of controversy stirring up in the stay at-home dad world lately. First I saw one of my dad friends post this video about "Little Boy Larry" by Mark Driscoll a few days ago. In it, Driscoll describes at-home dads as less than manly lazy asses who live off their wives and what they really want in a wife is a mom because they are deep down mamas boys. I am not that familiar with Driscoll. I may have heard the name a few times, but this is the first time that his name has really caught my attention. Wikipedia has him as a Christian pastor from Seattle, so the sense of patriarchy does not surprise me. There is a lot of patriarchy justified in the Bible, but I will get to that in a minute. I have have to wonder if, since he calls relationships where the man stays home with the kids while the wife works a mother/son relationship, he then considers a more traditional relationship where the wife stays home with the kids and the husband brings in the income a father

Ragu , Pampers , and a bunch of other companies still do not get how they are hurting their sales sales by making marketing assumptions which only moms to be parents. But at least some companies are getting it right. Check out these Tide commercials: [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1qW7Po-1KI?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360] [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M28l-6LUp3w?feature=player_embedded&w=640&h=360] I do have a slight problem with the term "Dad Mom". It still implies that primary caregiver is a position inherently for moms. But it is an improvement over some of the insulting marketing we have seen. I do not use Tide, but it is always good to have the recognition. In the event that I am looking for another brand because the store is out of the selection of All that I usually get or something else happens with the brand I am using, maybe I will consider some Tide. (via The Real Matt Daddy )

According to the Guardian , there are many more at-home dads in the UK than there used to be: There are now 10 times as many stay-at-home dads in the UK than a decade ago, with one in seven fathers (14%) now the main childcare provider, according to research from Aviva. It says about 1.4 million men are now the primary carer in their households. The rise is unsurprising. It seems the more egalitarian we become, the more women are going to be making comparable and better wages than their male spouses. There are also more adoption agencies willing to adopt to gay male couples , which account for at least some of the stay at-home dad count. Related, is the increase of single father households. As culture here and in the UK gets less patriarchal, the difference between primary caregiving moms and dads will continue to even out. We are still a long way away from that, but studies showing improvement are encouraging.

The Evolution of Dad is by no means a new a documentary about the rise of stay at-home dads. But still very relevant. It follows the stories of different men who are the primary caregivers for their children. It takes a look at the struggles of fathers looking to take care of children. It addresses some of the social stigma, the reasons, and the responsibilities that male primary caregivers incur. As a stay at-home dad, it hit home for me in an informative and inspiring way, but I think it would be enjoyable for anyone. I encourage anyone interested in the reality stay at-home dads to check it out. http://evolutionofdad.com