This Mother Captured the Absurdity of Parenting Double Standards in a Single Blog Post

Here’s an account of a mother that captured the absurdity of parenting double standards demonstrating that moms are criticized, and men are praised for doing the same thing.

Constance Hall, an Australian blogger, is essentially my new favorite person because she posted a funny anecdote about diaper changes that made me laugh out loud and perfectly encapsulated how absurdly differently people treat parents and dads for doing the same thing.

In a viral Facebook post that has received over 73,000 replies, Hall describes how her infant required a diaper change while she was dining out with a friend. “There was no changing table in the restroom,” she writes. “No problems, the restaurant was in a park, so I walked a great distance away, laid her on the grass, and changed her diaper. No big deal.”

Unless to somebody, it was. “Thirty minutes later, a woman came to me and said, ‘I saw you changing your daughter’s diaper; next time, could you please use the changing table?’ I stated, “There was none.” She responded, “There is, it’s in the disabled restroom around the corner.”

Hall answered as only she could to the unpleasant stranger. Caution: it featured sarcasm and profanity.

The following weekend, Hall and her husband Bill were in the park when their other child had a diaper change. She recalls, “When I informed Bill it was his turn, he put Rumi on the grass and changed his derriere.”

As before, random strangers also expressed their views. But, this time, their words had a different tone.

“As a group of women walked by, one of them said, ‘Good dad!’ That’s what we prefer to see,” Hall explains. “Bill felt like a legend.”

Now, Hall points out the double standard. She states, “I didn’t give it much thought because I’m accustomed to it. I am accustomed to being scrutinized for tasks that my husband receives credit for.

“When I pick up my children from school, I am accustomed to being judged for being late, whereas Bill is accustomed to a red f-ing carpet and a 12-piece band congratulating him for his heroic presence. As a society, we place so much pressure on women to be ideal and unselfish while holding males to low parenting standards,” she adds.

Being a mother, I relate. My spouse is currently at the grocery store with our three girls, as I type this. And I think, as was the case with Hall, that people are falling all over themselves because a father is shopping with his children. Nevertheless, while I am at the store with them, I am merely “performing my job.”

Yet Hall has no desire to insult fathers. She concludes her piece by stating, “I’m not advocating to stop giving appreciation. I enjoy watching Bill receive recognition for the things he does for our children. He is a decent father, so why not honor him? But let’s also applaud one another; when we see a lady talking on the phone while wheeling a stroller, let’s think, ‘Wow, she opted not to stay in and bid on eBay while drinking pure vodka.” She chose to go to the park and be a wonderful mother.'”

From your lips, Constance, to the ears of every living, breathing, judging individual on the planet!

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