• P34C0CK@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    yet public policy and social institutions often prevent them from being the dads they want to be

    This is what I struggle with. Anytime I do something in public with my daughter, without my wife, I get awkward looks. It doesn’t bring me down or stop me from spending time with my daughter but like…wtf? What would you have me do? Deny my daughter a trip to the park because Mom isn’t available to go?

    • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      It’s getting better each year, as more dads are more involved in their families. Had a conversation at work not too long ago where a gen X guy thought it was weird that a millennial dad wouldn’t go to the bar after work because he wanted to spend time with his kid. The gen X guy looked around at the rest of us as if millennial dad was crazy, but he finally realized that he was the odd one out.

      • magikmw@lemm.ee
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        6 months ago

        I got told off I overcuddle my daughter because I pick her up from kindergarten twice a week (and I drop her off every day).

        I can’t wrap my head around the logic.

        • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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          6 months ago

          The logic is men who are so emotionally crippled that any display of empathy or affection threatens their fragile sense of masculinity and undermines their false sense of worth as solely a financial provider, which feeds into their fears of what they’ve missed, so they ridicule and insult as a defense mechanism. Or something.

          • nomous@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            That would explain the reaction from men but not similar reactions from women, which are even more common in my experience.

            • ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              The logic is women who are so emotionally crippled that any display of empathy or affection by men threatens their fragile sense of femininity and undermines their false sense of worth as solely a nurturer.

              • nomous@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                This makes sense and kind of echoes what the other commenter was saying. People have internalized norms/societal expectations and any deviation from it caused dissonance. People really do just look for any way to “other” others.

            • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              Can’t say I can relate–in my experience, women have been the ones who either think nothing of it or approve more (though it can border on infantalizing). But I’ve known some women who internalized the mysogyny they grew up in, and anything departing from “traditional” (i.e., toxic) masculinity in men threatens their worldview.

              Our worldview is a bit like our gums–forms at an early age, and if we don’t regularly “floss” (challenging ourselves with growth and listening to differing perspectives), any challenge causes pain and discomfort. Flossing, like growing a worldview, isn’t pleasant at first, but we’re much healthier for it.

    • Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      This is when you wear that WORLD’S BEST DAD T-shirt you got for Father’s Day. If you don’t have one, go to your daughter right now with a blank tee and some fabric paint, and don’t forget to help her hotglue some sequins and jewels!

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
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    6 months ago

    That makes them PUSSIES!

    -Family Values Christ Loving Republicans.

  • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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    6 months ago

    I wonder if part of it is because more parents are parents because they chose to be. There are a lot of stories from older people where they became adults because they became parents, creating a lot of resentment.

    • Croquette@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      I spend more time with my kids because I don’t want them to live what I went through and it’s probably the same for many men.

      You are probably right that today, people ask themselves if they want kids, and why or why not. While our parents had more pressure to follow that life style, and our grand-parents had a priest coming to their home to tell them it was time to make another baby.

    • Default_Defect@midwest.social
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      6 months ago

      Is this true? Purely anecdotal, but none of the people I know in my age range had children on purpose. Most of them were an “Oops, guess we should get married then…” and THANKFULLY most of those are good parents and their marriages seem to be working out.

      Not that this is a bad thing when it works out anyway.

      • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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        6 months ago

        Anecdotally, my friend groups and family were the opposite. I even know some friends has abortions because they weren’t in the right place to have a child.

        But if you look at the statistics, parents are having their first child later in life. There are also a lot more childless adults.

    • TaintPuncher@lemmy.ml
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      6 months ago

      Hell yeah, maximum parenting 💪 barely saw my dad when I was a kid, always away on business. I work 100% remote since my first kid was born, get to spend all day every day with my kids now, never going back.

  • mar_k [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    6 months ago

    Back in 1982, a whopping 43% of fathers admitted they’d never changed a diaper. In recent years, that number went down to about 3%

    well damn

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      One of my neighbors likes to brag that he’s never changed his kid’s diaper. It’s not impressive like he thinks it is.

  • Tolookah@discuss.tchncs.de
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    6 months ago

    I cherish the times when I was off or even unemployed.

    These days a family that plays together stays together, or something. (We enjoy both video game and board game time)

  • Grass@sh.itjust.works
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    6 months ago

    how? we have no money and have to work even more than our parents think they did.

    • shastaxc@lemm.ee
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      6 months ago

      That is just a testament to how little previous generation fathers (on average) spent with their kids.

      • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Yep, I know plenty of boomers and a few genX who literally went from work to the bar, and got home after their kids are asleep.

        The bar is so low, Satan is tripping on it.

      • downhomechunk@midwest.socialM
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        6 months ago

        Or, a millennial like me with a kid, a mountain of medical debt, student loans in deferment, and nothing saved for emergencies or retirement. We’re supposedly middle class, but we feel more like working poor.

    • curiousaur@reddthat.com
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      6 months ago

      I work from home, realistically like 4 - 6 hours a day. I get to play with him constantly and don’t miss a moment.

    • 31337@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      Do millennials actually work more hours than their parents did? My dad worked 70 hours a week in a factory when I was growing up (12 hours M-F, 8 hours on Saturdays); Fuck that shit.

      • Grass@sh.itjust.works
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        6 months ago

        I did 10h mostly 1h ot, 1h banked, flex day and sometimes extra hours depending on if enough workers and safety staff were up for it. Also tried triple job at the lowest point. The difference from my dad who did similar hours in work that didn’t even require post secondary schooling, is that I don’t own a house after mine. I’m back to living with my parents at about an eighth of typical rent, and I guess I’ll have a third of a house when they are gone but then I’ll have to do more than just chores and tradesman work to keep it.

  • faltryka@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I really want to read up on some the studies that they were talking about in this article but they didn’t appear to cite any sources. Anyone know where they got the numbers from?

  • Bronzie@sh.itjust.works
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    6 months ago

    Of course!
    I am on 15 week parental leave as we speak and having the time of my life changing diapers, feeding and playing with the little one.

    I didn’t co-create a child to let the misses have all the fun!!!

  • Cyborganism@lemmy.ca
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    6 months ago

    My dad worked overtime all the time and I barely got to spend any time with him.

    If I had kids I’d try my best not to reproduce that.