Throughout history, men have established their roles as food bringers, or bread winners, if you will. Women have established themselves as effective and efficient masters of the household, performing domestic duties and maintaining the home. Despite women’s rights advancement and the inclusion of highly successful and highly skilled women in workplaces, this paradigm is prevalent within the overall mindset of society.

The Debate
Common misunderstandings of the roles of men are: children who are raised in fatherless homes are more likely to have behavioral problems, to engage in sexual activity, to commit crimes, and to raise fatherless families themselves. Another misconception is families are better equipped when both parents are earning incomes. Neither of these is a true indicator of educational or social development in a child’s life. Rather, it is the combination of the education of both the mother and father, as well as the overall socio-economic standing of the family-- the immediate family, including both sets of extended family systems. Many people erroneously hold to one perspective or another, stubbornly asserting “fatherlessness� is the root cause of societal ills, or (the other end) that “fatherlessness� has no bearing whatsoever on sociological and developmental effects on children and families.

The Depictions
Regardless of your standpoint in this ongoing sociological and psychological debate, two perspectives of men are maintained. Men are ostracized who do not, or can not, support their families or actively aid the mothers in raising the children. They are scorned as “dead beats�. On the other end of the spectrum, men who remain at home, foregoing the work place, are mocked and ridiculed as “Suzy-home makers� or as inept to perform in the mainstream workforce. These men bear the questioning that comes from the expectation that men are supposed to “work�. This observation is not based on research or data I’ve collected. This is based on experiences through my own life and the lives of men around me.

The Data
Many experience, or are considering, stay at home fatherhood. Currently, there is insufficient data to determine how many men are actually stay at home fathers. This is due in part to the lack of clear definition for what constitutes a stay at home dad. Census estimates about 0.5% of men are stay at home dads, while many private groups have conducted independent surveys, asserting percentages reaching well into the teens. Regardless, one acute observation can be contended: there are more stay at home dads than the American public realizes. I know of several men who work twenty hours a week or less, with full time wives, and perform the vast majority of household responsibilities. Yet, even these men will not risk being considered a stay at home father. They, along with the populace, fail to recognize the staunchly (and blindly) protected status quo is not only undermining the faculty of men, but deteriorating the overall integrity of our society.

My stance is not to wholly support one sociological perspective over another. Rather, I’ve examined a combination of a multitude of causal relationships within the family and the community as a whole. My intention is to stimulate awareness of stay at home fatherhood and provide support and encouragement to those of us who engage in this endeavor. This is not to claim stay at home dads supersede stay at home moms, or even that families with a male present inherently fare better than those without. My assertion is simply: as men, and as believers, we can not ignore the responsibility incumbent upon us to actively raise families pleasing in the Lord’s sight, hold fast to His promises, and disregard the pressures associated with the status quo. In doing so, we will provide living, vibrant examples of God’s grace and providence.

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