Today's Dad

The apron is a nice touch, but the reality is...

In case you haven't noticed, the 1950s are long gone. The women's movement of the 70s created a new order, as it were, and now we all share equally, right? Well, not so much. It would seem that the stress of fatherhood has become much greater than in the past, though it also might just be men's perception of how great those challenges are, according to a recent study done by Boston College.
The study, entitled "The New Dad" seems to point out that men are now suffering even greater stress about the work/family conundrum than women! For example, according to the study, in dual-earner couples, 59% of the men surveyed feel some level of work-life conflict while only 45% of women interviewed expressed that feeling. The underlying subtlety might involve a workplace environment which fails to recognize the pressures of becoming a new father and continues to presume that men in the workplace are largely unaffected by children: a decided "Leave It To Beaver" ideal.
Thus, the pressure facing men today is the same one that women have faced since WWII: how does one be BOTH a good worker and a good parent? This is especially poignant since the average couple works 63 hours per week, up from an average of 52.5 in the 1970s...and that's just away from home. Upon returning home, women complete an average of 28 hours a week on housekeeping chores while men record and average of 16 per week.
While men admittedly are doing more of the cooking, cleaning, etc. their perception is that they are doing a LOT more. Most of the men surveyed felt that they were completing at least half of the household duties...but that assertion was NOT backed up by females. OOPS!
Needless to say, instead of napping on the couch today, I was grocery shopping, helping to prepare dinner and digging up plants for replanting...at least 75% of what work needed to be done, by my estimation.
Those other guys are just slackers.