The letter below appeared in The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) on Thursday January 5, 2012 and is followed by the article to which it responded.
NCFM Advisor Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D.
Men falling behind
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/letters-readers/2012-01-05/story/letters-readers-we-re-protected
A recent article described dads who stay at home. The driver is that today’s men and fathers have received less education, have poorer jobs and earn less income than women and mothers.
A half-century ago, men earned about 60 percent of all advanced degrees while today men earn only about 40 percent of all advanced degrees. This male educational loss translates into fewer good jobs open to men and at lower pay grades.
So, while yes, there is “choice” for fathers to become stay-at-home dads, it must be noted that this is the same “choice” that mothers faced a half century ago when fathers had higher educations and occupations than mothers.
The lower-earning spouse takes on the child care while the higher earning spouse works.
Bottom line: It’s choice, but the choice is economically driven and reflects today’s educational, occupational and economic losses by men.
Gordon E. Finley, Florida International University,
Miami
Stay-at-home dads by choice – and loving it
They’re stay-at-home dads, by choice, and loving it, though it may not be as easy a task as some think.
Updated: December 29, 2011 – 12:33am
John Law is a former lobbyist who is staying home with his daughter, Katharine, 2. Last week, Katharine and her dad played in the backyard of their Mandarin home.
BRUCE LIPSKY/The Times-Union
Gregg Keefer holds his 3-year-old daughter Zoe Porter-Keefer on Dec. 21 in Jacksonville. Keefer and his wife, Christel Porter-Keefer, decided that it made financial sense for Gregg to be a stay-at-home father.
December 29, 2011 – 12:09amStay-at-home dads by choice – and loving itPaul E. Gregg III doesn’t go many places without Paul E. Gregg IV, who goes by his middle name of Emerson and turns 2 on Friday.
They ride together on a bike to the ocean near their Jacksonville Beach house. They chat with the neighbors. With Emerson as a conversation-starter, they must know everyone for 10 blocks on every side of them. And when Paul makes coffee, Emerson is right there making it with him.
John Law, 37, a former lobbyist in Tallahassee spends most of his daylight hours with his 2-year-old daughter, Katharine. They do errands near their house in Mandarin. He makes lunch, plays with Katharine, puts her down for a nap. He does cleaning, cooking, laundry, cuts the grass, takes out the garbage.
Gregg and Law are former working men, each married to working women, who are now stay-at-home dads. By choice.
“It’s been really cool to shut my phone down. It’s been awesome,” Gregg said.
Read the rest of the article here: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-12-29/story/stay-home-dads-choice-and-loving-it#ixzz1hy99gSlZ
