Stay-at-home dad
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A stay-at-home dad is an occupation of a male parent who is the primary caregiver of his children and home. The terms stay at home father, househusband or homemaker are also used. The facetious term "Mr. Mom" is occasionally used in North America, but it connotes a disparaging attitude. The term "stay-at-home" is also sometimes considered disparaging.
These duties were traditionally done by the mother; this still holds in most families. "Stay-at-home dads" (SAHD) or "at home dads" (AHD) usually have many household responsibilities that go along with day-to-day care of their children.
As recently as 25 years ago, such an arrangement where the father would be home was almost unknown in Western countries (with the exception of certain farm arrangements in the Canadian Prairie Provinces) . In recent years, stay-at-home dads are becoming more common and accepted.
The contact a father has with their child has been quite considerably reduced since the era of industrialisation,[citation needed] since children in industrializing countries have become far more focused on extended periods of learning outside of the home. In developing areas of the world, male members of the family still have considerable roles in child rearing, and grandfathers, uncles, and cousins in extended families have provided such support for generations.[citation needed]
The arrangement has been socially accepted in much of rural Canada since the 1930's, however. It started there when fathers stayed on the farms and worked there while their wives worked in the towns.
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[edit] Wife's role in household
The wife of the stay-at-home dad usually has the full-time job and makes most of the income for her family. The "swapping" of roles works well for many families. The wife may have a professional occupation that requires substantial time at the office in exchange for the salary to support the family on one income. Household tasks may be shared more than "traditional" Western roles might prescribe.
In these arrangements, the husband will assume the majority of the household chores (cooking, cleaning, and laundry) and childrearing. However when the wife gets home from work, the wife will often reassume these duties from the stay at home dad. This is something that is quite different from relationships involving a traditional stay at home mom.
[edit] Stay-at-home dads in the United States
More than 100 dads annually attend a national At-Home Dad conference. This multi-day conference includes parenting classes, large and small group discussions about the importance of fathers, and social events. Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois hosted the conference from 1995-2005. The conference will be in Kansas City starting November 11, 2006. www.athomedadconvention.com
[edit] Mr. Mom movie
The Michael Keaton movie Mr. Mom (1983) features the most famous portrayal of a stay-at-home dad. Many stay-at-home dads dislike being labeled Mr. Mom because of bumbling aspect of the father in the movie and the feeling that stay-at-home dads are trying to be a mother. Many feel that their contribution is as a father and that is just as important to children, but distinct from a mother's contribution.
[edit] Groups
In many parts of the U.S., stay at home dads have dads' playgroups available. These groups allow their children to do activities with children of other stay-at-home dads. These groups help support the dads and encourage interaction with their children. Existing playgroups had already been created to benefit stay at home moms and their children. Many of these groups readily accept dads. There are national and local stay-at-home dad groups and e-mail lists.
