Dads who can't do anything right

Wow. How frustrating. I can't imagine being a competent father who lives in a society that stereotypes as incompetent because I am male.

This is a HUGE stereotype because of shows with premises about husbands and dads who just can't do anything right and the wives and kids who love them anyway.

The stereotype is that men just can't be as efficient at taking care of children because men are not naturally nurturing, unlike women. I know this is untrue because of experience-- I've met men who are very sensitive and nurturing and plenty of women who aren't.

This view of dads is damaging because if a couple has a child and the father makes a mistake about taking care of the child (i.e. the formula in the bottle is too cold) it could be dismissed because he is a man and the woman gets into the practice of not holding the dad accountable for mistakes later on because he is male.

I've also seen first-hand some even more negative consequences because of the incompetent dad stereotype. I've known a couple of friends whose moms made all the decisions with regards to the child's upbringing against the father's wishes because these moms assumed they knew more about child-rearing because they are women. I had a friend in middle school, for example, whose mother allowed her to dress provocatively and let boyfriends spend the night against her dad's wishes because she insisted she knew more about what was good for her daughter because she is, afterall, her mother. The mother would undermine her husband's authority in front of my friend and gave her permission to do things she wanted secretely after her father said 'no.'

"Okay, just don't tell your father."

As a result my friend felt her father's word was not valuable, and definitely not final.

This stereotype is especially frustrating to me because my dad is very competent, both in taking care of us physically and emotionally.

Just like with any other stereotype, all I can do is not perpuate this one.