Let’s Hear It for Everyday Moms, Too

* Wow, Greg Bishop (“Everyday Dads Offer Hope for Society,” July 19), welcome to all the fun of family life! I was just wondering whether the word parent really meant mother, and now I find out that men have been blocked from joining in! I can’t wait to find out who has “robbed” men, “relegated” them and kept them from the party at home.

Come on now. Wake up and smell the laundry! Women have been trying to get men into the parenting role for as long as men have been avoiding it. Let’s guess which gender coined the phrase “women’s work,” and then used it to avoid the complex, messy side of home life.

I’ll agree that everyday dads deserve recognition and support--right after everyday moms who have been doing it all along get some respect. Notice that only men have the luxury of choice, and then expect a medal for what they do on top of it.

We’d have real progress on the home front if we made respect for work in the home into a two-way street. Give plenty of credit to both genders. Face the fact that parenting is not for sissies. Moms and dads working together. Respected equals. That might be the real hope for society. It’s got my vote.

STACY ACKERMAN

Irvine