Stay-at-home dad pleased that more people aren't surprised about his arrangement

Date published: 7/18/2006

I TRY TO have faith in my fellow man (or woman, as the case may be). I really do. But I am surprised that more people aren't shocked that I'm the parent who's going to be home with our son when my wife goes back to work in August.

Apparently, most folks have made it to the 21st century. When I've mentioned my new "job" in passing, no one has so much as raised an eyebrow. Ditto for when I answer the question, "Is your wife going back to work, or staying home with the baby?"

Of course, I'm not the first stay-at-home dad. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the number of Misters Mom at 143,000, though many father-type Web sites and blogs say the number could be more like a couple million because the Census Bureau defines "stay-at-home dads" as "married fathers with children under 15 years old [who] have remained out of the labor force for more than one year primarily so they can care for the family while their wives work outside the home."

This would then eliminate dads who work from the home--like me--or ones who haven't been doing it for a whole year: again, like me.

I do my work catch-as-catch-can right now, whether that's during Jackson's afternoon naps or, because I'm a night owl, after he and Mommy have gone to sleep.

It's difficult because it's hard to figure out when parenting and normal household chores end, and when "work time" begins. Sometimes the different tasks get muddled together (holding the baby while trying to type an e-mail with one finger, etc.).

My workload, though, isn't nearly as challenging as the pace that's outlined by Jay Massey, who keeps up the Web site slowlane.com.

In an article from 1998 on the site, Massey describes how he managed to run a business while serving as primary caregiver for a preschool-age son.

Date published: 7/18/2006

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