Most dads are more than capable of looking after their children just as much as us mums, so why are they constantly being called babysitters when their little ones are left in their care?
Well, this is the exact question that father-of-two and blogger at DadBlogUK, John Adams raised in an opinion piece in the Mirror recently.
Recalling a time he was called “brave” by a registrar when he went to register his daughter’s name, John was left questioning where this idea that men are brave for caring for their sons and daughters came from.
"It was a baby in a pushchair, not a Great White Shark. She posed no threat to me whatsoever. There was nothing brave about what I was doing.," he said.
While he knows (or rather likes to believe) the comment was meant as a compliment, he was, in fact, left feeling very offended by it.
"I grew up close to a large military base. I saw women in military uniform all the time. I would never, ever have gone up to them and said they were brave. But a man with a newborn baby - an experienced father, to boot - for some reason deserves this title," he explained.
John, gave up his job in communications four years ago to run the household and care for the kids, but he says that even though they take on the same roles as women, dads are “rarely taken seriously”.
It's not surprising that he has had enough.
“Dads have a very important role to play in their children’s lives. I appreciate that few men get to spend as much time with their kids as a stay at home dad like myself," he wrote.
“Even so, in most families men change nappies, cook food, rub grazed knees, do the school run, help with homework etc.
“Many men are desperate to spend more time with their kids but the realities of working full time and providing for the family means they struggle to do so.”
