Rebuilding Rob

If this article sounds like I’m a whiny father on Father’s Day, that’s kind of the point.

There seems to be this perception in our culture that Father’s Day is a “less important holiday“ than Mother’s Day. We’re in the very least, there seems to be this belief that people don’t make us big deal about Father’s Day Mother’s Day. Here’s a few examples of my case in point.

Here, we see Mother’s Day being depicted as if someone is winning a beauty contest; tiara, feigned-excitement- yet -actually -envious peers. Below that, the photo depicting Father’s Day is none other than Al Bundy from TVs Married With Children. As a sidenote, who ever thought that Al Bundy would be the best TV dad from the 1980s? I must admit that that one was definitely not on my bingo card. Thanks Bill Cosby.

This article, suggest that while more people celebrate Mother’s Day, fathers are more likely to receive gifts on Father’s Day than mothers are for Mother’s Day. The article also explains that this is usually because Mother’s Day lends itself more to going out to dinner, flowers, and things of that sort; whereas fathers might receive a more tangible gift. Having said that, the article fails to mention that the “tangible gifts“ dads receive are typically something like a mug or a tie.

Don’t take any of the wrong way. As a father, I’m grateful to receive gifts from my boys and Father’s Day. In fact, I don’t even personally have an issue with the whole Mother’s Day versus Father’s Day debate. My beef is with the perception among the masses that Mother’s Day is somehow a more important day than Father’s Day.

I have no doubt that this is due, at least in part, to the number of fatherless children who are growing up in America today, for whatever reason. Likewise, these broad generalizations that I’m making today don’t take into account things like single or widowed fathers who are raising their children alone. I would hope that in those household, Father’s Day is treated with a little more gravitas than Mother’s Day.

I think this goes back to the idea that fathers are generally the backbone in the traditional nuclear family. They are the providers. They are the stability and the support. I’m not saying this to sour grapes. This is just the way that , and more generally, men are perceived inthis culture.

As for the fathers who say “I don’t need anything. I just want to relax today.“ I have no problem with that. Sometimes a day of doing nothing is a gift unto itself. Suggesting that fathers need to be pampered, treated like Kings, given flowers or anything like that. I would just like to see Father’s Day be held in equal regard, or at least more equal regard, to Mother’s Day.

Just when I feel like I’ve got a handle on this whole thing, I see things like this on social media that remind me of the real shitty excuses of fathers who are out there. To all the good dads out there; from the dads were involved, to the dads, who want to be more involved. For the dads who love their children: happy Father’s Day.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

• The Temptation of the Out: Utility vs. Visibility
• Rob Reviews: Tron Ares (2025)
• Sunday is borrowed time
• Teacher Armor and the Saturday Clearing
• The Extra Day: A Ten-Year Memory

The article “Rob and the Mother’s Day/Father’s Day debate” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob