This is a little bit of a "soapbox" blog today. Why is it when a child is home with mom they are called "stay at home mom" or something else that is positive, but when a child stays home with dad it's called "babysitting"? Here are my thoughts on this topic...
I don't babysit my kids. I don't get paid for taking care of them. I don't want paid...never have, never will. When a child is born it takes a mom and a dad to raise them in the way that God intended. This is why premarital sex and living together and having kids before you are married are not the way God intended. When I am home with my kids I am simply being dad who is home hanging out with my son/daughters when my wife works. I am so blessed to have a "job" where I can set my own schedule and work from home on days that Darla works so our kids can have the most time with their parents and save money for childcare.
I really believe that just about anyone can be a father. It doesn't take much. It does take a lot to be a dad that our kids need. The role of mom is well documented, but just ask an adult about the relationship they wish they had more positive experiences with or cherished more...most of the time it's dad. I don't hear many kids say they wish their mom spent more time with them, told them they were proud of them, kissed or told them they were loved. It is their dad that they wish those words had come from. Dad.
This is a call to all dad's out there to spend time with your sons and daughters, tell them you love them, tell them they are valuable. Remember that if you don't, someone else will and it will lead down a road you do not want to go.
I don't babysit. I simply try and do what God commands and that is to be the person that leads my kids to know Jesus, to know that they are treasured by me, and to train them in the ways of God so that when they leave my house they will not depart from it.
