How to Be a Stay at Home Dad

Source: wikiHow

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Stay at home dads are increasingly common, but still face unique challenges. Take pride in your hard work and embrace your role, whether it’s a personal or practical choice. Before you get going, discuss duties and expectations with your partner. Getting on the same page will help you both adapt to your roles.

Being a full-time dad is a 24/7 job, but remember you still have to meet your own needs. To avoid burnout, do your best to squeeze some me-time into your routine whenever possible.

1. 1 Talk to your partner about dividing responsibilities. Make sure you’re both on the same page when it comes to your duties and expectations. Do they expect you to have dinner ready when they come home? What about housework and other chores? Gray areas can lead to arguments, so work together in advance to divide and conquer responsibilities.^[1]
   • For example, maybe you’ll cook dinner on the weekdays, and they can cover the weekends. Maybe they work from home 1 or 2 days a week and could handle those nights, too.
   • You could team up and do daily chores as a family. After dinner, they could do the dishes, you could put food away and, if they’re old enough, your youngster can wipe down the table and counters.
2. 2 Come up with a consistent parenting strategy. Work with your spouse to set consistent rules and consequences for your kids. Discuss parenting decisions together whenever possible, and offer each other assurance that you’re equal co-parents.^[2]
   • Sometimes, a working spouse may feel left out of the decision-making process.
     Creating a clear parenting strategy together can help you both adapt to your roles and prevent disagreements.
   • For instance, decide bedtimes, set rules about watching TV or playing video games, try to anticipate potential misbehavior, and establish punishments for specific broken rules.
   • Unless a situation needs immediate attention, try to hold off on making any big parenting decisions without getting your partner’s input.
3. 3 Seize opportunities to become a better nurturer. Adapting to a new role as a full-time parent is tough, and the many details of childcare can seem overwhelming. Don’t feel insecure if you’re nervous, and be open to advice from your partner and other loved ones. You could also try reading parenting books and articles or attending classes.^[3]
   • All parents, whether male or female, make mistakes, and there’s no such thing as a perfect superdad or supermom. Don’t be hard on yourself if you need pointers on changing diapers or testing the temperature of formula.
   • Men who are more confident in their parenting skills tend to be happier about their roles as full-time parents.^[4]
4. 4 Embrace your role and take pride in your work. While the number of stay at home dads is increasing, you still might encounter stigma. Don’t get caught up in social norms or gender expectations. Remind yourself that being a dad is hard, important work.^[5]
   • Whether being a full-time parent is a personal choice or a matter of finances, try not to worry about what other people think about your decision. Take pride in the fact that you’ve stepped up to the plate for your family.
5. 5 Be honest with your partner if you feel insecure…

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