Does your husband/dp play a big enough part in the family?

[Beka]

do you feel your dh/dp/so plays a big enough role within the family in terms of childcare and as a family man rather than a man with a family (if that makes sense)

if he doesn't where do you think he could improve?

if he does, do you find yourself shocked to hear of other men who don't immerse themselves into family life like he does?

[giffy]

I am fantastically lucky! My husband is very active in the running of the house and the raising of the children. He cooks dinner every night, even when I have been home all day. We share pretty much every other task except the laundry. And he never refers to having the kids while I work/socialise/run errands as "babysitting"!

I guess I wouldn't say I am shocked to hear of men who don't participate the way my husband does, but it makes me wonder why not.

[Lisa]

He does right now. Since he's only working part time and in school he's home a lot. Esp right now as his classes are all online and he only has his clinicals on tuesdays. So the rest of the week the kids are with him, I haven't had to cook dinner in quite a while LOL

I'm not surprised other fathers don't but surprised that some woman put up with it.

[Jurgita]

OMGosh yes! He does so much around the house, that often I feel guilty LOL It's easy for him since he works from home and we are both here a lot, so yeah he is a huge help and doesn't mind doing it :D

[Christine]

Dave is excellent when it comes to childcare and helping me raise our children. He has never acted as if he's babysitting if I want to go somewhere. He's very hands-on with them in play and takes an active role in discipline. The only complaint I have is regarding housework. ;)

[Beka]

Dave is excellent when it comes to childcare and helping me raise our children. He has never acted as if he's babysitting if I want to go somewhere. He's very hands-on with them in play and takes an active role in discipline. The only complaint I have is regarding housework. ;)

maybe it's a David thing that? could have writen that myself i tell you! Mine cooks very well but that's the extent of his household skills- fabulous with the kids though, he has the good sense to step back and let me do things my way though as he appreciates it's me dealing the majority of the time.

[Meshelle]

Jay actually has been pretty bad in the past. He has a tendency to be selfish and do what he wants, no matter what the family needed or was doing. He is getting better. He does still act as though it is babysitting when he has the kids, but I am sure in time that will change too. He really does love his children, but he didn't have a father growing up so, it has been difficult for him to figure out what his role actually is. Like I said, he is doing MUCH better as of late and I can only hope and pray that it continues. :D

[Chris]

Meshelle said it perfectly. Except Ben did have a father growing up. He has always been selfish and hasn't done his share around the house but he is starting to get the hang of it.

[Desirae]

Dave is excellent when it comes to childcare and helping me raise our children. He has never acted as if he's babysitting if I want to go somewhere. He's very hands-on with them in play and takes an active role in discipline. The only complaint I have is regarding housework. ;)


Yep, sounds like my Sean:love

[Renita]

Yes, he is extremely active in their lives. And in a few weeks, he will officially be a SAHD. He doesn't miss a moment....so I am thankful for this. He would actually be a better stay at home parent than I would....so I can't wait for this all to start!

[Kristi]

Dave is excellent when it comes to childcare and helping me raise our children. He has never acted as if he's babysitting if I want to go somewhere. He's very hands-on with them in play and takes an active role in discipline. The only complaint I have is regarding housework. ;)

Yep change Dave to Tim. He does very little in the way of cleaning around here. Now If I ask him to he is usually pretty good about it, I wish that he would just do things more without me having to nag him to do so though. It would be lovely if he saw something that needed done and just did it.

[Sam]

Yes :)

He moved in and from day one he treated the boys as his,in his eyes he is just as responsible for them as I am,he thinks it is his place to do the chores,bath the boys,feed them,play with them,read to them etc etc as it is mine. I got very very lucky :D

He does all the laundry,he does the night time routine,he helps do the nightr feeds,EVERY morning he takes the boys to schools,get them up,get them dressed and fed too :) We take it in turns to cook and the house work is shared equally.

I wouldn't have it any other way either. I want a partner who does his fair share.

[Marzipan]

I am fantastically lucky! My husband is very active in the running of the house and the raising of the children. He cooks dinner every night, even when I have been home all day. We share pretty much every other task except the laundry. And he never refers to having the kids while I work/socialise/run errands as "babysitting"!

I guess I wouldn't say I am shocked to hear of men who don't participate the way my husband does, but it makes me wonder why not.

This describes our situation as well, though I do the cooking. He's so bloody tall he gets messes in the most inaccessible places.

[MrsSuzNZ]

He is wonderful. Hardly ever complains about doing things for me when I ask. As long as I ask nicely and specifically. :)

[Maleah]

DH is very involved with the kids. He changes diapers, cleans up puke for me, he actually likes to babywear (that sounds weird, anyways) and gets on the floor to play with the kids. He's sooo good with newborn babies too. With Gabriel I didn't have to change a single diaper for 3 weeks.

I wish he would help out with Christmas shopping a little more, but that's my biggest complaint in the family department I guess. :)

[Jejune]

I'm sure there are ways in which Daniel could improve, but there are ways in which I could improve, too. LOL

Basically, he's ideal for me, and he's a father and husband first. We're both terrible housekeepers, but we both try hard, and I'm glad to have someone who is willing to assume a partnership in running our home.

[Lori]

Sean does well. I definitely complain much more than I should, because really he is pretty great. He is so good at playing with Thomas and having fun with him. When he's home (and he's home most days by 5:30 and all weekend), he's Thomas' playmate until Thomas goes to bed. I do try to give him some alone time by taking Thomas out to play for a bit or giving him his bath and reading him his stories (which Sean usually does at night), but he really handles Thomas most of the time when he's home. While I do think it's a bit easier on him than it is on me, because I'm always around for back-up whereas I'm home with Thomas alone most of the day, he is a really fun dad.

He is not so great with housework generally, but we actually had a very good talk the other day, and he has been AMAZING since then. I think he honestly didn't realize how little housework he'd been doing. It was just like a dish and laundry fairy had been visiting our house. But when I sat down with him and just told him, "You've done the dishes about three times in the last nine months, and I'm starting to feel like a maid," he was kind of annoyed at first and was convinced I was lying and that he'd been doing a lot more, then thought about it and realized he really had been completely slacking off on housework for quite a while. He has made a really concerted effort to help me out, and this weekend I did not have to clean a single thing, which was like a mini-vacation. I think it definitely helped when I let him know that I don't expect to split the housework 50-50 (I think that's an awesome arrangement, but since I work PT and he works FT and we both take care of Thomas, it seems fair to me that I do the majority of the housework) and that I just wanted him to do the dishes a couple of nights a week, so he didn't feel entirely overwhelmed by what I wanted.

So, he does good. ;)

[Tracy]

Rich does great with the girls....playing, discipline, meals, baths, etc.... If I need or want to go somewhere, he'll watch the girls with no complaints. Now housework on the other hand, I have to ask him to do stuff. He doesn't cook meals (for the family), doesn't do the dishes, doesn't do laundry...unless he is desperate for something to be clean, then he'll wash that one thing!