New dads are more involved than their dads; and that’s a good thing

Depending on your age, your dad may have had a much more hands off approach when it came to parenting. With my father, most of the parenting he did came from the discipline side of things. It was the old Hollywood stereotype of "Wait till your father gets home"

Thankfully that is changing for Millennial fathers.

In 1982 only 43% of fathers said they had changed even one diaper, today that's down to just 3%.

That's not to say my dad wasn't there for me, he absolutely was.  He taught me how to do many of the "manly" things that a father and husband is expected to do.

And, he might have done more than most fathers during his era. When I was just starting school, my dad lost his job and did odds and ends jobs until he started his own business years later.  But he still was the stoic father most people think of when it comes to gender norms.

I'm not a Millennial, I'm a Generation X kid.  But I started my family late in life, so I'm a new father in the era of Millennials.  I have no idea how many diapers I've changed (thankfully both my kids are now done with them!) and I loved doing it, even the stinky ones.

I loved those bonding moments that allowed me to tickle tummies, eat toes, and sing songs to my kids.  Kids are better for it as well!!

For the past 2 years with Covid, I became a stay at home dad.  My wife is a teacher and to minimize the chance at infection, we kept our kids at home, and I worked from home while watching the kids. Those were the best 2 years of my life. I got to spend time with both my daughter and son for the first year, then just my son for the second year once my daughter went off to kindergarten.

My son just today said "Daddy remember our Jack and Daddy days? Those were fun!"  Those Jack and Daddy days weren't just him and I hanging out doing nothing either.  I would have to do zoom meetings, do web-based work and record air shifts. But we also ate lunch together every day, we'd run errands together, and do housework together.

Yes, we'd also veg out some days on the couch (don't tell my boss) go to the park, or go the Children's Museum, along with lots of other bonding moments.

Not only are dads stepping up to the plate good for the kids, it's good for your relationship as well.  As I mentioned I started my family life later in life, I was 31 by the time I met my wife, and 34 by the time we married.  I had been cooking, cleaning, and doing "women's work" on my own for a long time, so I never thought it was now something I no longer needed to do.

And why should just one person be responsible for making sure the household runs smoothly.  Most households have both parents working so to put all of that on just one partner is selfish.

I'm happy to hear those new dads don't want to do the same things their dads did and are eschewing gender norms.  This is something we should be excited about as it will lead to more enriched children and a better society moving forward!!