Had someone tell me today I was "such a great dad" because I was at my kid's school event on a weekday. Like... I'm just doing the thing? Not every dad can make it work schedule-wise so I respect that, but I also didn't think showing up counts as extraordinary. Felt good in the moment but also kinda made me think about how low the bar is sometimes lol
The bar is so low for dads and I hate it. You should absolutely be at your kid's school events. That's not optional good parenting, that's just being present.
It's wild how society defaults to treating dads like we're babysitting our own kids instead of just... parenting. But yeah the praise for basic stuff is awkward.
My mom does this constantly. 'Oh you're so good with the kids' when I'm just feeding them lunch. Never praised my wife for the same thing. The double standard is real.
I started just saying 'thanks' and moving on instead of explaining that this is just normal dad stuff. People mean well but the surprise in their voice is kind of insulting.
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This hits different. Like being praised for showing up to work on time. It's the bare minimum but somehow dads get applause for it.