Solo Dad at the Doctor’s
I took my son to the Pediatrician today for his 6 month checkup and dreaded shots. We spent an hour in the waiting room which was packed. One little fella was there with a cold or flu or something. He was busy running all around coughing and sneezing on everyone (literally) while his mother was busy on the cell phone accusing her boyfriend/husband of having an affair. She did jump in every once in awhile and yell accross the room for him not to get other people sick (very effective… not) I’m not overly paranoid about colds and such, but if my kid is hacking and blowing all over the place I try to be courteous and contain him and his germs, especially from others, especially children.
Anyway, as I looked around the room at the folks who came and went I noticed that every kid had a mom with him/her. Some had dad’s there with them too, but I was the only one that was daddy-only. I started to think back through previous visits and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dad there alone with their kid. I wonder why that is? I’m sure it used to be that way because dad’s worked and mom’s took care of the kids. But nowadays just as many mom’s work. I couldn’t really figure it out. Oh well, give me an hour with nothing to do and my mind starts to ponder just about anything.
There are more single moms with custody than single dads with custody. If the child belongs to a two-parent family, it seems to be woman’s work to take the child to the doctor, to soccer practice, to and from school, etc. Is it that man’s work is considered more important than woman’s work or is it that men feel funny asking the boss for time off to take the kid to daycare? I am not sure.
P.S. I see you use Smorty. You may want to read my post about them on http://CoolAdzine.blogspot.com.
I just had to take my son to the Dr. for his 5 year shots. I noticed the same thing…I was the only dad in there. And, now that you mention it, I don’t remember seeing too many dads in there any of the times that I went.
btw, the 5 year shots were worse than the 6 month shots…I think it was because he knew what was coming…
Does your pediatrician’s office have a sick child entrance? Ours has a back door, which can also be used by tiny babies who need to go directly to an exam room without being exposed to all the stuff in the waiting room.
Thanks for your piece about Project Wonderful. I’d been trying to figure out how to gain advertising on my blog without having to use Adsense. I sell and write about personalized photo gifts and the last time I tried Adsense all the ads they gave me were from competitors like Snapfish, which was certainly counterproductive.
CyberCelt - Good point on the single moms with custody vs. single dads. I think you’re probably right on the two-parent households as well. As for Smorty, I greatly appreciate the info you posted and will be updating my post as well.
Kris - I’m not looking forward to the later shots at all. Like you said, they know what’s coming. The older he gets the harder and more traumatic it becomes.
Feefifoto - Nope, our ped only has one door - sounds like yours has a great setup! Glad the ProjectWonderful info was helpful. Adsense has a competitor filter, but I don’t know how useful (if at all) it is.
My children are grown now and I can tell you honestly that their Dad never even knew where the doctor’s office was! I see a difference in the current generation of young Dads. While the Mom is still the primary nurturer and care giver, Dads are starting to be more involved. It’s a slow process but I see it
happening. Stick with it, you’ll never regret it.
I think as a society we still expect Moms to jump in when children are sick. One thing that really annoys me these days is when a co-worker brings a sick child to work because daycare won’t take them (because they’re sick!). I’ve gotten more than one cold and flu from them! After the child spends the morning coughing all over mommie’s workspace, she decides she really should take junior home. Guess which sucker had to take over mommie’s workspace for the day? Guess which sucker got sick and lost three days of work as a result?
As for the bad mommie with the sick kid and the cell phone, there have always been thoughtless, selfish people and there always will be. Wonder if he’s really cheating on her? Hm,wonder if it’s because she’s a thoughtless, selfish person?
Wow! Sorry for going on so - I guess you touched a sore spot!
PS - tell the doctor he needs a sick room otherwise I’d find a less crowded practice that respects a healthy space.
I never really thought about this before. But as I sit here and think about it. You are absolutely correct. My husband has taken the kids many times to the doctor as well as the emergency room by himself. So I guess some dads do, just not a lot of them.
Shari - I can totally sympathize… I’ve spent the last two days in bed with a flu I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Oh well, at least the baby doesn’t seem to have caught it.
Kim - Glad to hear I’m not the only one. I guess we’re just pioneers!