Today’s post is a bit more of a diary entry. A post of gratitude, if you will.
When my husband and I were starting a family, we had agreed that my husband, who had dreamed of being an artist, would leave his job and stay home, to focus on cultivating his artistry as well as be the parent at home with any children we might get. We both wanted to ensure that our kids would grow up with one stay-at-home parent.
In the 90’s it wasn’t as common for a mother to be working and a father to be at home with the kids, but that didn’t deter us.
But today, traditional gender roles are undergoing a profound transformation, and one place where this is evident is in the rise of stay-at-home fathers. Once seen as an unconventional choice, more men are embracing the role of primary caregivers while their partners pursue careers outside the home. This shift not only challenges long-standing stereotypes but also highlights the evolving nature of modern parenthood.
The benefits of stay-at-home fathers are manifold. Children benefit from diverse caregiving styles, learning valuable lessons about equality and partnership from an early age. This arrangement also provides mothers with the opportunity to pursue their careers without the natural guilt or pressure that can come from balancing work and family commitments. Moreover, the presence of involved fathers can lead to healthier emotional development in children and foster stronger family bonds.
Although many of these traits are not necessarily gendered, I was always in awe of how truly free my husband was in his way of raising our children. He encouraged them to take risks, get hurt, learn from their mistakes, and be independent in ways that would have had my heartrate sky rocket. And for that I am ever so grateful. For the grace with which my husband, Henk, raised our children to be unafraid and daring.
So, I extend my deepest thankfulness to all hard-working mothers and fathers out in the world, embracing varying iterations of family dynamics, that are defining parental roles by ubiquitous love, care, and commitment rather than traditional norms.
