In society, many have a view of dads as being the second parent . The societal norm is that the father in the home is the one who goes to work and doesn’t portray himself as a hands-on parent when it comes to their children.
However, this is hardly the case in many homes . In fact, many fathers are the ones who are doing it all—stepping up to be both parents for their children. Single fathers are certainly the unsung heroes that we need to pay attention to, especially on Father’s Day. Let’s hear it for the dads who are absolutely killing it!
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We usually only think of one thing when we think of single parents.
Single parents are usually synonymous with single mothers. Stories, TV show plots, and movie screenplays revolve around the struggles and trials of women who are forced to raise their children alone.
But we never really see anything about single dads, have you noticed?
This can create a preconceived notion about fathers in general.
These stories and narratives portray a storyline of “deadbeat” fathers who walk away from their children, sometimes not even leaving a crumb of child support behind. Instead, women struggle to care for their children while also being the breadwinners, too.
In some families, single fathers are all that children know.
In the United States today , there are nearly 13.6 million single parents raising over 21 million children. 15% of those homes are comprised of single fathers giving their all to make their children’s lives amazing.
While there are a large number of single fathers, they hardly get the recognition they deserve.
Dads who step up and choose to take care of their children when the mother walks away are unsung heroes . They choose to be active, present, and supportive when no one else is.
Many times, they are also underestimated.
In many custody and court trials, family court judges are more likely to award custody and rights to the mother over the father. However, there are fathers who fight tooth and nail to make sure the safety of their children is protected.
Single fathers make sure everything is taken care of.
So many fathers go out every day into the workforce, many doing a job they may not even like, just to be sure that their kids have a roof over their head or food on the table.
They never get a day off.
While they work Monday-Friday, they truly never do get a day off. Being a single parent is a full-time job, you don’t have a partner to take the reigns once in a while and do the everyday tasks.
Many of them have to learn as they go.
Single dads who are raising boys sometimes have it easy, but there are those who are raising girls and have to learn everything along the way. They don’t have a mom to rely on for styling hair and outfits.
Some of them even go to classes to learn.
Single dads go viral online just because they go the extra mile to make their daughters feel seen. Some even go to classes to learn how to style and braid hair so their daughters don’t feel left out.
And, let’s not forget when our kids get older.
As kids grow, they have changing bodies, needs, and questions. Single dads do it all—even when it comes to buying their daughters period products and making sure they are comfortable and okay when that time comes.
The bottom line is that far too often, society views men as financial suppliers.
Whether they’re in a marriage or single raising their kids alone, society continues to view men as the ones who go out into the workforce, come home and kick their feet up, hardly being hands-on with family.
Men are much more than just financial providers.
Men are deep, emotional, understanding individuals who love and support families—both big and small. They care about the little moments, and the big ones, too. Many of them want to be a part of all the routines and everyday traditions.
And, the single dad is the one who has no choice.
Instead of walking away when things get hard, single dads make sure they do it all before the sun goes down. They make sure they are present for those small moments so that the bigger ones mean that much more.
From tucking them in, to walking them down the aisle.
Single dads are the ones who, when their kids look back on their life, are the hero of their stories. They tuck them in every night, make sure they are safe and sound, and eventually give them away so that they can begin the next stage of their life.
When we’re celebrating dads all over, single dads deserve twice as much applause.
So, when we get out the steaks to BBQ for Father’s Day and celebrate dads all over the country, we should tip our hats and raise our glasses twice for the dads who do it all, who never say “no,” and make sure their kids know that they always have someone there.
