This Stay-at-Home Dad’s Post on Parenting Has Been Shared 17,000 Times
While parenting roles as a whole are progressively more equal in today’s society, there still tends to be a bit of a disconnect between the parent who works and the one who cares for the kids (should that be the chosen set-up). And, as far as we’ve come, it can still be a shock when the parent who works suddenly becomes the primary caretaker. When Australian-based dad Brad Kearns was thrust into that situation, he had some major realizations. And thanks to the Internet, he has gone ahead and shared them with the world via a viral Facebook post.
Brad explains that his parenting revelation started when his wife texted him saying that her liver had failed and she needed to go to the hospital. Naturally, Brad left work in a hurry to head home to care for his two kids (two-year-old Knox and six-week-old Finn). He works 40+ hours a week and says his wife would often tell him, “I wish I could be the dad.” He says he always thought it was essentially the same thing. But he quickly realized it was not. Brad transcribes the day’s timeline like this:
“5:00pm arrival at home
5:01pm… Initial scans of the house:
1. Living quarters trashed
2. Rations reduced to tiny teddies, gravy stock, tea bags and a clear lack of defrosted meat
3. Knox (2yo) limited speech ability wants to watch a DVD and communicated this by roaring at me. Finn (6wks) communicates only by way of the hot and cold guessing game, crying for hot and emphatic crying for cold”
He goes on to say, “I put on the DVD which buys me time with Knox. Finn still making his same original request, I don’t seem to be getting any warmer. A bottle reduces him to a mere whimper. I’ll take it.”
As you can imagine, the rest of the day progressed with an equal, if not amplified, sense of chaos. Eventually, his wife’s mom had to come and help. Brad writes, “It was in that moment I knew I was defeated. It was also in that moment I knew she knew I knew I was defeated. A vulnerability we try our best to keep from our in-laws. That was only 16 hours of being a mum. And I failed.”
So, safe to say Brad’s first day came as a bit of a shock. However, he’s since started an Instagram feed and provided a follow-up post — both of which give off the impression that he’s doing a little bit better. Stay strong Brad, we’re rooting for you!
What sort of parenting set-up do you and your partner have? Share with us on Twitter @BritandCo.
(Photo via Brad Kearns/Facebook)
