- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- iparenting canada articles
- iparenting canada q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
The Trials and Tribulations of a Stay-at-home Dad
Parenting is Tougher Than the Army By Gary Foskuhl
Sometimes this isolation worries my wife. You know that you have been a stay-at-home father too long when:
- You invite Jehovah's Witnesses in for a cup of coffee.
- You consider cheating at your favorite computer game as a way of "sticking it to the man."
- You look forward to the change of seasons so that you can look at different clothes when doing the laundry.
- Potatoes start to fascinate you.
- You talk to your dog way too much.
- Your daughter yells, "I spilled mayonnaise on the cat," and your first reaction is, "Do we still have enough left for potato salad?"
- You can quote the Readers Digest April 1992 edition that occupies the top of the toilet tank.
- Sally Jesse starts looking really good to you.
- The source of your humor is Highlights magazine.
- You ask to be put back on hold because the song is really good.
- You clap along to the Family Feud theme song.
- You do the Super Bowl Shuffle after unclogging the laundry chute.
- You play the fart game with your pets.
- You get a thrill from arranging your desktop icons by date, not alphabetically.
This is just a warning to those of you considering staying at home with your children. The loneliness is hell.
But, I have only described the difficult aspects of staying at home with five whining and complaining food absorbers. Despite all of the trouble, the children are absolutely hilarious. Sometimes, the humor is in the form of a monologue. Just recently, my wife was in bed reading, and our 5-year-old walked up to her and firmly stated the following:
