Being a parent isn't easy and being a single mom or dad is a daily struggle, no matter how much support you have. Between work and all that goes into caring for little people while also raising them into decent members of society, it's an insane amount on any one person's plate. Plus, that's not to mention trying to find any time to take care of your own needs. And although moms tend to get the most recognition when it comes to doing it all on their own, one man is complaining that as a single dad, people don't seem to give him the credit that he also deserves. Of course, the Internet was divided on this issue; some people could see the dad's point, whereas others thought he was being just a wee bit dramatic.
The drama started when the dad made he controversial thoughts public online: Single dads have it harder.
In a frustrated post online, the dad vented about how his ex-wife gets lots of support from her friends on social media after "picking herself up" after the divorce. But as a father? Well, in his opinion, nobody cares about the single dads out there.
"I have none of that. Its not that my friends don't think I'm a good dad, it's that as a society, we have made the single mom a sort of unsung hero," he wrote. "What about single dads? We do the same sh*t. I work and take care of my kids the same way but I don't get celebrated like I'm doing something amazing. I just get the recognition that almost all dads get… nothing."
Is he wrong for wanting a little recognition?
Some people (*cough* other single dads) thought the guy was right on the money.
Many of these dads could relate to exactly what he was talking about.
And these fathers agree that they've been the target of discrimination before.
Although some people were quick to question whether he's *technically* a true single parent.
One person wrote that a "single parent with half custody isn't nearly the same as being a true single parent."
His wife does have partial custody too, the commenter pointed out.
And another person pointed out that men don't often "cheerlead for each other the same way women do."
It's not society's fault that guys don't support each other, she reasoned.
But one mom shared that as a female single parent, "I found the opposite to be true."
She claimed that her ex gets credit for doing the bare minimum.
In an update to his original post, the dad said he wanted to clarify that he's not looking for empty praise for what he does for his kids.
"My struggle is the lack of equality, not the lack of 'attaboy,'" he wrote. "I've been to mom groups to socialize my kids and I'm this weird anomaly and they don't even talk to me. So then I play with my kid so I'm not just there on my phone. It's not the same for us. We don't have the same resources."
And the dad added that he knows he isn't a 24/7 single dad; "those people get major props."
Later in the thread the dad added that "if it came across as me looking for recognition, that's my bad. I guess more of what I meant is that it's not a challenge that is unique to women, but women get support and almost honored for doing it on their own. With men, it's just part of the gig."
And in response to another commenter, the dad added a few suggestions to deal with the problem. "Maybe we should either stop glorifying single moms for doing what needs done. Alternatively, maybe we start letting dads show up to a kids play group without making him the weird outsider," he wrote. "Let us raise our kids using the same tools given to single moms."
