The essay “The World of the Stay-at-Home Dad” by Andrew Olscher is devoted to the challenges fathers face when they take paternity leave. The sentence reflecting its main idea may be: “There’s nothing like a dose of stay-at-home parenting to make you realize that women are as quick to stereotype men as men are women” (Olcsher 88). It highlights the idea that society is not used to men caring for children instead of women, as it clashes with the breadwinner’s image of men.
The author gains the readers’ trust through personal stories that show them that he experienced everything he writes about himself.
First, he describes his experience of walking with his child in the baby stroller, saying that it was quite stressful for him. Several paragraphs later, he states that being a stay-at-home dad is worth all the negative and sexist attitudes. However, he does it especially by describing all the positive sides of paternity leave as something he witnessed himself. Finally, the author states why women tend to treat him with respect, giving examples of his children’s homemade lasagne for potluck lunches or eating broccoli. Apart from personal stories, the author addresses the newspaper article about a man’s failure to become a babysitter. He mentions the article’s title together with the newspaper’s one so that people can read it by themselves. The fact that the author knows the subject well helps him explain it more simply and sound persuasive.
The article is written for both men and women, who either have children or think about having them. It helps people rethink their priorities and look at staying-at-home dads from a different perspective because there is nothing unusual in a father’s desire to spend time with his child. The author’s purpose in writing the essay was to attract public attention to the distrust and disrespect stay-at-home dads face as well as to show that there is nothing special or scary in men’s desire to take care of their children.
To conclude, it is necessary to mention that the article is beneficial not only for the audience but for the author as well. He managed to face his fears and gain victory over them. The author seemed to get a lot of experience as a father, established a close relationship with his children, and gained their trust and respect and those of society.
Work Cited
Olscher, Andrew. The World of the Stay-at-Home Dad.