Move over, women, there’s a new mom in town. He may go by the name “Dad,” but really? He’s Mommy.

Men parents have been encroaching on mom’s turf for some time now, but this year it seems to have reached a critical mass.

Let’s start with the research. Dad gains weight and experiences mood swings during pregnancy just like his pregnant wife — the original mom. Studies also show that Dad doesn’t value  himself as a parent, which is such a self-deprecating and motherly thing to do.

And you know those special skills women claim to develop along with raising kids — better at multi-tasking, sharper senses, more motivated? Turns out we’re not the only ones. These days, Dad develops a freaking mom brain, too!

Fathers have also taken over the momoir genre — made quite apparent with all the fuss over Michael Lewis (who runs down kids and unromanticizes parenting, which, come on!, has been the territory of mothers for decades — Erma Bombeck, holla!).

It gets worse.

Moms used to hang curtains and pick floor tiles, but now Dad’s the one making his house a home and writing about it in painstaking detail on the Internet — like some damn mommy blogger! What next? A risky business venture as mompreneur?

Brace yourself for this next one. Dad has encroached on that most sacred of mothering territory — stay-at-home parenting. Then he goes and bitches about a problem with no name! (Depression over financial dependence on your spouse — get in line, stay-at-home Dad, get in line.)

Fathers opting out has become so common, in fact, that news producers hoping to mail one in are going to have to come up with a less cringe-inducing term than “Mr. Mom.” They might even get their own war! Watch this pithy Today Show segment – the reporter tries to get the stay-at-home dad to say he’s a better parent than a working dad. Sound familiar?

Seems the only thing left exclusively for women is the child-bearing (maybe not, Thomas Beattie) and breastfeeding. Though on the latter? I’m sure some selfish dude’s going to come a long and demand weekly rounds of prolactin shots — you know, until a good latch and ample supply is established. Huh. A La Leche Leader named Dave, how quaint.

All this is my way of saying, happy Father’s Day, Dads. Oh, man, this just hit me: are you guys taking over the second Sunday in May, too?

What do you think? Welcome social development or bad for mother-martyrs?

More Posts

The Story Behind Awkward Family Photos

Anti-Hospital Birth Film for Dads

Missing Girls? Blame Early Weaning

The Pain of Kids Waaaaay After Birth

Motherhood For Men

Photo: laboutiquedevogue.com

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