Comments on: Are Stay-At-Home Dads a Threat to Children in Playgroups?

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 21:38:00 +0000

@Stephen Connolly -
That’s a good point. To me it’s the principal of it. I can also see how a single dad might use it as a way to make friendships with other primary caregivers. Either way, it was wrong of them to exclude him. But in the end, hanging out at the park,etc., might be the most practical solution.

Thanks!

By: Stephen Connolly

Stephen Connolly — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:55:20 +0000

Who needs playgroups? I live in Chicago and for half of the year I go to local parks and hang out with whomever shows up. Totally ad hoc. I talk to everyone and have occasionally run into snide comments from the "not safe!" brigade. Moms will sometimes step in to "protect" my kids from non-threatening playground explorations. the winter's a different story but my 4 year-old twins are in preschool and I can take my 2 year-old shopping or to the library. Stephen Connolly’s last blog post..You Know You’re Old When …

By: Jon

Jon — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:48:37 +0000

Originally Posted By Shane Lashley
The moms really blew it here. While I think their decision reflects some tendencies of many people, I won’t try to generalize this to the entire population of moms. I think many moms appreciate an active and responsible male in the crowd.

I'm sure you're right that many moms appreciate when dads get involved. Let's hope they're the majority.

By: Shane Lashley

Shane Lashley — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 18:52:41 +0000

Very glad to hear the leader is siding with the dad, taking it to the media and forming a new group. Those are the kinds of solutions needed for this kind of problem. It's not just the dad that suffers. The kids also suffer. Depending on their age, kids can often pick up on this sort of trouble but still lack the maturity to interpret what they are sensing. They pick up a message that something is wrong with dad. The moms really blew it here. While I think their decision reflects some tendencies of many people, I won't try to generalize this to the entire population of moms. I think many moms appreciate an active and responsible male in the crowd. Shane Lashley’s last blog post..Warren Buffet Investing In People & Their Ideas - Are You?

By: More on the Threat Dads Pose to Playgroups — DadTrek: A Dad's Journey

More on the Threat Dads Pose to Playgroups — DadTrek: A Dad's Journey — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 20:48:40 +0000

[...] recent post “Are Stay-At-Home Dads a Threat to Children in Playgroups” dealt with a situation where a dad was removed from a playgroup by the other moms. They [...]

By: Which Presidential Candidate is Better for Dads? McCain or Obama? — DadTrek: A Dad's Journey

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 05:11:37 +0000

[...] help us personally. However I have family members who are stay-at-home moms. I also blogged about stay-at-home dads recently. I don’t feel that they should miss out on additional tax savings when they’ve already [...]

By: Jon

Jon — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 23:57:43 +0000

Some of you have raised a good point, because it’s possible there’s more involved than we know.

Perhaps he was a silent member for too long (who wasn’t attending in-person events) and that spooked the other moms?

Regardless, it’s unfortunate that other dads feel they’ve had similar experiences. You’d think more women would be supportive of dad’s who get involved and/or raise their children. Although to be fair, let’s not stereotype all woman either.

There must be moms out there who are supportive of dads in situations like this… right?

By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:42:00 +0000

Freddy, you’re right, women do have seriously prejudiced ideas against men. I wouldn’t have believed it until recently when I accepted a challenge from a man to go into a chatroom as a male. I couldn’t believe how women stereotype! They knew nothing about me (obviously) but assumed that if I was a stay at home dad, I must be emasculated somehow. I’m glad I’m a woman, but that experience opened my eyes.

I’d like to hear more on this story….I’m curious if these women gave any reasons more specific than ‘he’s a security risk’. That’s a laughable reason, even if they had something legitimate. Then again, if it were legitimate, you’d think they’d have been more specific.

I think my head is spinning now from nonsense.

Melanie’s last blog post..!!!

By: Jessica

Jessica — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:01:45 +0000

Isn’t that discrimination? Doesn’t the dad, if he wanted to go through the trouble, have the right to sue? I really wish he would do that to make a lesson of them. That really isn’t fair.

By: Lane Reiss

Lane Reiss — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:07:36 +0000

I am a stay-at-home dad and I go every week to my 2 1/2 year-old daughter’s gym activity class. I am almost always the only adult male there. Many of the women engage each other in regular conversation, and I hear them making plans for playdates outside of the class. I have yet to join in on one of these playdates with my daughter. I can certainly tell there is a gap between myself and the other mothers, and I’m sure my sex is a factor.

I’d like to learn more about this particular case, because I find it interesting that he was in the group for a while, and THEN they voted him out for security reasons. Was it simply because he’s a male, or because of his behavior. It’s easy to jump to conclusions here.

Lane