Well, I can answer that question straightaway with a resounding YES! You see, I am one!
I am and have been a "Stay at home Dad" practising what I affectionately call "Daddy Day Care" for the last eight months looking after our son. And apparently I’m not the only one…
Research from the Office of National Statistics shows that there are now 200,000 men staying at home to bring up their children – almost double the number there were in 1993, when official records began. And we’re not just house-husbands at home full-time. Increasing numbers of fathers are working part-time and sharing the childcare, or bringing up children by themselves.
The rise in the number of homedads represents a small, but significant change in British family life, as over the same period the number of stay at home mums has fallen by almost a quarter.
Looking after my son has been rewarding, although you can feel rather left out of things in the local Community. Most baby and toddler groups are geared towards Mums… Dads just get tagged on the back, almost as an additional politically correct afterthought.
Luckily for me though, my local village group has welcomed me in and the villagers always seem to stop me when I’m pushing the pram around. This is also reassuring as I get to have a bit of adult conversation.
One challenge to face head-on is the feeling of being undervalued. A lot of stay at home parents find themselves in this situation, even if only briefly. Giving up a paid job to look after the children is sometimes frowned upon by peers. Words banded about like ‘commendable’ and ‘foolhardy’ certainly don’t help, until you realise or someone reminds you that your new job is highly valuable.
Lots of my friends who are fathers have told me recently that they wished they could’ve had the opportunity to stay at home, but the chance never arose for them. I say, if you have a dream you must follow it, take action. Our decision for me to stay at home has changed my life, and hopefully my son’s life, forever.
And I’m definitely not the only one. Here are some thoughts from two like-minded stay at home dads I have the pleasure of conversing with…
Nick has stayed at home since his daughter Phoebe was six months old and his wife returned to work. "Initially I said I would do it until she was a year old. But it has worked out so well for us that I am still at home nearly five years later – apart from an eight month break when Ben was born. We swapped back when my wife was on maternity leave again, and I got the chance to go out to work again. But now we are happily back to ‘normal’!"
For Simon, being at home with his son Nathan has been a positive experience. "My wife and I were both earning about the same, but whereas she really enjoys her work, I felt I could take it or leave it. So I did, and it’s been the best career move I’ve ever made. No pressure and no deadlines. Admittedly there’s no coffee breaks either, but the job satisfaction is absolute.
So to summarise for you, we do exist and we’re thriving!
If you would like to find out where all the stay at home dads are visit http://homedad.org.uk.
Baz Smith, Stay at home Dad, Internet Marketer and Yournetbiz Mentor
And you can still work from home, I can show you how, you’re sure to have everything you need to become a successful Internet Marketer.
Baz Smith Marketing
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Baz_D_Smith
http://EzineArticles.com/?Stay-at-Home-Dads—A-Myth-Or-Do-They-Really-Exist?&id=4972973
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