Reading many of the posts in Mothering, I find mothers talking about doing the bulk of the childcare in their families.
I had a reverse family situation--my mother worked, my father stayed home and took care of me. My dad got me up in the morning, got me dressed, fed me breakfast, arranged for a ride to school, met me when I came home, got me a snack, read stories, played, went on walks, talked, watched TV with me, fed me dinner, told me a bedtime story, tucked me in at night, got up in the middle of the night if I was scared and needed a parent, helped me go to the potty...my dad did everything. Even in high school I still hung out with him most of the time.
My Sweetie and I are planning on having me stay home with our children, and I wonder if there will be a mix-up of gender roles in my mind...since I've absorbed, from my own family, that the DAD is supposed to do those things, is it going to cause confusion in my mind when I do them? Will our kids be able to have a really close relationship with their dad if he's working all day and sleeping all night?
I guess I'm rambling. Does anyone else have a dad who was "the mom" or am I really that much of an anomaly?
I had a reverse family situation--my mother worked, my father stayed home and took care of me. My dad got me up in the morning, got me dressed, fed me breakfast, arranged for a ride to school, met me when I came home, got me a snack, read stories, played, went on walks, talked, watched TV with me, fed me dinner, told me a bedtime story, tucked me in at night, got up in the middle of the night if I was scared and needed a parent, helped me go to the potty...my dad did everything. Even in high school I still hung out with him most of the time.
My Sweetie and I are planning on having me stay home with our children, and I wonder if there will be a mix-up of gender roles in my mind...since I've absorbed, from my own family, that the DAD is supposed to do those things, is it going to cause confusion in my mind when I do them? Will our kids be able to have a really close relationship with their dad if he's working all day and sleeping all night?
I guess I'm rambling. Does anyone else have a dad who was "the mom" or am I really that much of an anomaly?
