Abby Connolly
It’s time we take a moment and talk about a ridiculous double standard that is driving and has been driving a lot of American moms crazy.
It’s an age-old question at this point, but why do dads often get extra praise for taking on the same parental responsibilities moms take on all the time?
A fine example of this situation can be spelled out in a story told by TikTok creator Emily Belson (@emily.belson) in a recent video of hers, where she talks about her husband getting praised for taking their two young sons to the grocery store by himself.
“Three people stopped him to tell him what a great dad he was for taking them to the store,” says Emily.
“Do you know how many times I’ve taken both of my kids to the grocery store, to literally everywhere? A million. How many people have stopped me to say I’m a great mom? Zero.”
For decades, thanks to old-fashioned, archaic social norms, moms have been tasked with handling most aspects of parenting along with taking care of a household. When a mom takes her kids to the grocery store or clothes shopping, gets them to their school and extracurricular activities on time, or cooks them three meals a day, she hardly gets praised.
However, when a dad takes over these roles occasionally or does the bare minimum of parental responsibilities, he often gets praised for being “so involved.”
If both a mother and father are involved in a family, their parental responsibilities should be shared.
Unfortunately, people tend to be harsh towards mothers over fathers whenever they try to make things a bit easier for themselves. For instance, some people will judge and shame a mom who gets takeout for her kids on a weeknight. But if a dad does it, he’s considered fun and cool.
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