Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

It’s the first time in US history that it’s happened.  The Los Angeles Times reports that “In 1970, 64% of college graduates in that age group were men… .”  Today, that number is only 46.5%.    But, it isn’t just education that women seem to have more of these days.  They are also catching up in the earnings department.  The Pew Research Center has a report (2010) that shows how women are out pacing men in earnings growth as well.  In 1970, 4% of women 30-44 had an income greater than their husband’s.  By 2007 that percentage had grown to 22%.  Women still aren’t quite caught up, but the growth is fantastic.  What does it all mean though?  For me it’s nothing more than a verification that I’m not alone.  My wife has more education than me and she is also more employable. 

Liberating Statistics: 

Judging from the community of dads and stay at home dads I’ve found since I started this blog, being an at home dad is not such an odd thing anymore.  We all have different reasons for doing it, that’s true.  But, look at how lucky we are for even having the option in the first place.  If women had not made this kind of progress we would have no choice but to be in the workforce regardless of how much we wanted the chance to stay with our kids.  These days families can make the choice of who stays at home without giving up earning potential.  That’s what I get out of this story.  These facts have given the power of choice to families where before there was none.  Men aren’t lazy for staying at home with their kids; families are simply more liberated to make the choices that our parents, for economic reasons, never could. 

Gender Roles: 

My wife and I have decided to throw out conventional wisdom about how families and domiciliary duties should be divided.  I don’t care for the notion that men need to do X because that’s what they’ve always done.  Gender roles are a bit quaint in my opinion.  They simply aren’t based in modern reality.  I’ve known for a long time that my place in society isn’t to be cooped up in an office working for someone else.  The times I’ve tried it have been massive failures ending in termination each time.  My wife on the other hand works quite well in a team environment.  She’s a Lawyer and a Construction Project Manager.  She works well with other people and people like her.  The same can’t be said for me.  But, I have my own qualities that make me redeemable.  I have an entrepreneurial mind, and entrepreneurial minds happen to be great as homeschooling parents!  Bingo!  We found a fit for my unique skills independent of gender stereotypes.  That’s what working as a unit is all about.  If I were to accept my traditional role as a man, I could very well be limiting our growth potential.  This has nothing to do with manliness or who wears the pants in the family.  It’s entirely about the division of labor which, however it gets done, needs to get done.  

Being a stay at home dad and homeschooling parent is still a minority enterprise.  But, polls are being conducted that support a new modern reality.  Gender roles as they pertain to division of labor in a family are being blurred.  Earnings of women in my age group are rising fast, catching up quickly to those of men.  And, because of these new developments, families have greater freedom to choose how they’ll live their lives.  Rather than being viewed as an us vs. them scenario, men vs. women, this should be seen opportunistically by those who would like to try something new but who don’t because of artificial restrictions that society is rapidly shedding.  Some moms are better at the office, some dads are better at home.  That makes sense to me. 

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