Friday 4 November 2011

Because You Asked For It: Paternal Play

Source:  babycenter

Why do you think so many mothers don't play with their kids?


Whenever we go to the park I see Dads playing with their kids; Kicking a ball around, shooting hoops, chasing, etc.  The most I have ever seen a mom do is push the swing or wait at the bottom of a slide.  Why don't more women get actively involved playing with their kids (I don't mean in place of peer play).


                                                                                       letsplay




Dear letsplay,

To answer your question, letsplay, I guess dads are just better parents than moms.  Because we're a bunch of lazy bitches and dads aren't.  But you know while we are noticing how gender plays a role in parenting style why stop at the park?  There are all kinds of gender differences to be explored.

For example, why is it that whenever there is a baby to be gestated and then squeezed out of a ridiculously tiny opening I only ever see the moms doing the real work while the dads are just standing nearby?  Why is it that moms are the only ones with chewed up nipples, and most of the time it's the moms getting up at 3 in the morning to clean the baby's explosive shit?  You know, the kind that shoots straight up the back and then ends up all over the walls of the crib and the bedding and (Oh, Dear God!) in their mouths?  I have almost never heard a guy talk about that morning because he slept through the event while his wife donned the haz-mat gear and took care of it.  Because even in this age of equality, somehow we women are still the ones taking care of the shit.

And what's with the single parent families?  Whenever I see a single parent family it seems like the parent is always a mom.  I wonder why that is?  Why is it that dads are much more likely to run out on their kids than moms?  And since father absence is such a big contributor to poverty I can't imagine that this makes things easy for the moms.  Maybe that mom standing at the bottom of the slide is a fucking hero for bringing her kid to the park instead of catching up on some much needed sleep from struggling to survive.

Maybe the answer to your question is that those dads you see kicking balls and shooting hoops are trying to compensate for the fact that all those other douchebags are making them look bad.  Maybe they are trying to give their hard working wives some peace and quiet by tiring out their kids.  Because they're nice like that.  Because they get it.

You see, these are the questions you should really be asking.  Or, here's a thought, spend more time playing with your own kids.  That way you'll be too busy to notice whether or not anyone else is as awesome as you.

                                                                               Hope that clears things up for you,

                                                                                                  Mommy Rotten

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