Dads don��t ‘babysit’ their own kids – why I’m fed up of double standards in parenting

We need to stop heaping praise on fathers for doing the basic job of looking after their own children, writes Niamh O’Reilly

A lot of people seem to praise fathers for doing bare minimum. Photo: Getty

Niamh O’Reilly

I vividly remember being dragged to a hen party 13 weeks after giving birth. I was still in a fog of post-natal depression and would rather have poked my eyes out with a rusty spoon than attend.

Yet, wanting to appear as if everything was fine, I went along. The other women tried their best, but I didn’t enjoy it. What I remember most was how often they congratulated my absent husband for “babysitting” his own infant for the one night I was away.