When John David goes to the grocery store with his 2-year-old son, his main concern isn’t managing potential tantrums or finding the proper brands of food — it’s fielding flirtations from the women who ogle his kid in the checkout line.
“Women have definitely hit on me while I am with my kid,” says the 35-year-old project manager from Battery Park, dad to Benjamin and married for five years. “It happens once or twice a week that I get approached by women … I get approached the most at the grocery store when I’m at checkout, since you are kind of stuck there.
“The opening line is usually, ‘How old is he? Is that your only one? Are you here by yourself?’ ”
When news broke earlier this week that Anthony Weiner, 51, had allegedly sent sexually suggestive pictures of himself to a woman on Twitter, the shocking part wasn’t that he had been caught sexting yet again — but that he included a picture of his sleeping 4-year-old son in the picture.
He then suggested his son was “a chick magnet.”
While it’s appalling that Weiner used pictures of his son to woo women online, he’s accurate about one thing: To many woman, nothing is more attractive on a man than a child.
“I have been approached by women twice,” says Justin Key, a 28-year-old member of the Army who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and 3-year-old son, Jair. “The opening line is usually, ‘Oh, he’s handsome, just like his father.’ It’s very flattering; it’s nice to know somebody is checking me out. I am never rude about [turning them down], I just go about my business.”
According to Susan Trombetti, a celebrity matchmaker and owner of Exclusive Matchmaking, the attraction single women feel for men with babies is completely instinctual.
“Nothing like a cute toddler to make a woman’s baby clock start that inaudible ticking that only she can hear,” says Trombetti. “Women love to nurture. Also, I think women with their biological clock ticking fall for it. They think, ‘This man needs a mommy for his baby,’ and many women scoop up men like that. The perception is that women can take care of children better than men, but this isn’t always true — but women love to play the role of mommy and it appeals to them.”
But even though Weiner may be guilty of using his baby as date bait — as were the guys in the 1987 flick “Three Men and a Baby” — most New York men find the practice abhorrent.
“Me and my friends have spoken about this very subject, guys using their kids as chick magnets,” says Nicholas Horovitz, 32, an architect based in Manhattan who has two kids, ages 3 and 1. “I think that it is kind of desperate for guys to use their kids to get women. I have never had an interest in doing that and I will leave that for the guys who have puppies.”
David agrees, but says he’s seen others commit the sin. “I have never used my son to get women. But I do have some male friends that have used their kids [to get dates]. It’s an easy ice breaker.”
According to a recent study by MummyPages.co.uk, a website aimed at mothers, 71 percent of single dads have posted pictures of their kids on their dating app profile, apparently in a bid to attract hormone-riddled women.
In comparison, only 24 percent of single mothers include their kids in their online dating profiles, which some say is indicative of how society views single moms versus single dads.
“There’s definitely a double standard,” says Leah Klungness, a psychologist and co-author of “The Complete Single Mother.”
“Single dads typically enjoy ‘hero’ status, and understand that these images boost their appeal. Single moms know that their kid responsibilities are often seen as an unwanted burden by potential romantic partners.”
While his sleazy approach might have scored Weiner some flirty messages from women, it might have backfired in more ways than one. It was reported Wednesday that the state Administration for Children’s Services would be launching a probe into the care of the boy.
But dads say that even if they’re not out looking for the attention on their own, they can’t help it if they get it — and at the very least it provides a nice ego boost.
“One time a woman did approach me at the supermarket and my wife stepped in and rolled her eyes,” says David. “But I have to admit, it does feel good, like, ‘Yes, I still got it!’ ”