At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house. Acts 7:20 (ESV)
An article in The New York Times[i] highlighted the changing role of some fathers in America. As the writer, Alex Williams stated, until recently, stay-at-home fathers were just a very small number among American families and were not always seen in the most positive of lights.
In the first decade of this century, the number of men who have left full-time employment outside the home has more than doubled, to 176,000, according to recent United States census data. If we add all the men who maintain freelance or part-time jobs but who serve as the primary caretaker of children under de age of 15 while their wife works, the estimated number is around 626,000, according to Williams.
The identity of the at-home dad is also changing, both on the playground and in the culture in general. The decision to stay home with the children is not seen as a failure of their responsibilities as men, but rather as a lifestyle choice, a choice, in fact, that makes sense at a time when women may make as much or more money than their husbands do.
The new arrangement has created a new set of questions and situations men have never had to face before. One of them has to do with the division of labor, which can be a challenge even when couples enter the arrangement willingly. The modern at-home father is also experiencing what many women have had to live with for many years: the isolation and tedium familiar to housewives throughout the ages. And one situation has to be dealt with carefully when taking his children to the park: How does a lone man approach a lone woman at the teeter-totter without giving her the wrong impression?
A changing society presents new challenges and situations. But the important role of fathers does not change and will never go out of fashion.
Father God, help us, as fathers, to contribute to the health and well-being of our homes and of our children daily.
[i] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/fashion/dads-are-taking-over-as-full-time-parents.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 (accessed 1-10-15)
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