Stay at home dads used to be something of a novelty - there weren't many of them, and those that did stay at home were often met with negativity. Now, many more Dads are looking after the kids whilst mum is out at work. Daddilife spoke to some of the fathers in their network to find out more about why being a stay at home dad works for them.

There was a time where a title of ‘Stay at home dad’ (SAHD) would be met with much confusion and ridicule. For decades the age old cliché of mum looking after the kids, and dad looking after the family bank balance ruled.

SAHDs more prominent

Fortunately, change is constant, and as mum and dad find their roles increasingly balanced across work life and home life, stay at home dads are becoming more and more prominent. In fact there are now over 250,000 in the UK alone, and over 1.5m in the US. 

Yet, even though these numbers are on the rapid rise, it is difficult for some to shift previous perceptions and clichés about the parenting dad. There are still a great number of misconceptions and hear-says that belie the real truth of this new dad era.

Common misconceptions 

We recently asked a few Stay At Home Dads across the UK and US about their most common misconceptions that they hear every day. Here are some of the most common:

“Wow – how did he get away with that!”

Astonishingly, Eoin from The Walking Dad gets this little gem a lot – ‘how did he get away with that.’ We need to see it for what it actually is – a dad contributing to the welfare of his children, everyday.

“How sweet, it must be daddy’s day.”

Well, actually everyday is daddy’s day for Luke at daddynanydiaries, and number of stay at home dads in the USA has doubled in the last 10 years, and it’s clear that there are going to be a lot more constant ‘daddy days’ for more and more fathers. We should be celebrating this.

If we can start to realise that truth perhaps SAHDs can start to be seen less as a ‘baby sitter’ and more for what they really are – a parent.