Friday, April 13, 2007

How very insulting

Just another reminder of the ultimate irrelevance of fathers.
The federal government made a splash recently with its newest study of American children who attend day care at an early age. The research showed that day-care kids are more argumentative in grade school but have better vocabularies than most of their classmates.

Just as important was what didn't make the headlines. In the fine print of the study -- funded by the U.S. government's National Institutes of Health -- was the definition of "child care" that the study adopted. Lumped together with care provided by preschools and day-care centers was care provided by the child's father.

That's right. If your mother stayed home with you, you were cared for by your parent. However, if your father stayed home with you, according to the NIH study, you are the product of "child care."

Ironically, this represents an improvement in our societal picture of fathers. A dad who's relegated to the status of daycare provider is at least getting time with his kids. Many fathers would love to exchange the title for the actual opportunity.

Another A/T to Glenn Sacks.

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