He’s not their babysitter. He’s their dad.
Where possible, parenting should be a team effort.
One guy who knows this all too well is Jeremy Martin-Weber – a dad-of-six who was left with the task of looking after his children while their mother went away for a few days.
But Jeremy didn’t see this as a task at all, he saw it as his duty as a parent.
He took to Facebook to share his thoughts, listing all of the things he would have to do while his wife, Jessica was away.
And he was looking forward to every single one of them.
As Jessica boarded her plane, Jeremy wrote:
“Now to figure out who:
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will cook and feed my children?
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will get them to school on time?
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will pick out clothes for our youngest to wear?
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will respect their routines and help hold those boundaries for them?
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will hug them when they need a hug and kiss their bruises, and tend to their scrapes?
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will comfort them with their nightmares and help them go back to sleep?
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will help them with conflict resolution with their siblings?
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will listen to every little detail they want to share about their day?
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will read them a story, encourage them to play outside, or play a game with them?
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will support and encourage my teenage daughters with their feminine ‘problems,’ and their relationship struggles?
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will model kindness, love, patience, listening, empathy, strength, bravery, and all the good things to them?”
He continued on to say that he, of course, would be the one to do all of these things because it was his responsibility as a father.
And because he loved doing them.
“I’m not the babysitter. I’m not just their playmate.
I’m their dad. And looking after them and guiding them and caring for them is my responsibility.
And I love it – with all of its challenges.”
Jeremy’s post received a lot of attention upon posting. It’s already got over 4,000 likes and 1,500 shares.
The dad-of-six said that he didn’t want any attention or praise for being a good father, but it sure looks like he’s gotten it now.
Images via Beyond Moi.
