Monday, May 18, 2009

More Thoughts on Dr. Laura's Book: "In Praise of Stay-At-Home Moms"

I've been thinking some more about some of Dr. Laura Schlessinger's comments in the interview I posted a few days ago here. Specifically, I've been fuming about her comment regarding a father's ability to stay home with a child under the age of 3.

It is absolutely ludicrous to me that this woman honestly believes that a guy cannot successfully stay home with a young child. After all of the years where men have been bashed for not taking an active role in their kids' lives, this lady comes along and actually says that men don't have the ability to stay home with young kids.

Is that condescending to anyone else? Because, honestly, I think I'm a pretty damn good father. I don't know if I'd be a great stay at home dad, but that's not the point. I could absolutely do it, and do it well, if I had to. And I know that there are plenty of great stay at home dads out there.
Having a vagina does not make you more qualified to be a stay at home parent! That's just not part of the qualifications. It's all about your ability to provide for your children and do the things that will make them well-adjusted people.
Damn you Dr. Laura. I'm done talking about you.
She does, however, say some great things about stay at home moms, so I do appreciate that. Here's another interview if you're interested.

3 comments:

  1. She is absolutely wrong about a father's ability to care for young children. I know many men who are meeting this challenge everyday.

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  2. Huh...that's interesting. I don't know the first thing about Dr. Laura and her politics. But I would be seriously offended by that statement if I were a Dad. It bothers me that some people think only the mother can parent effectively. Like when my husband takes my kids somewhere, and some 'well-intentioned' (?) stranger comes up and says, "Oh, is Daddy babysitting today?" WTH?? He's the father; of course he's not babysitting, he's parenting! Whether men are SAHD or not, they still have the potential to be a loving and nurturing parent, with or without a uterus.

    Amen.

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  3. I'm glad I'm not the only one that takes offense to this.

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