Lifestyle5 min(s) read
Published 17:41 16 Feb 2021 GMT
A single father sparked discussion on social media after taking to Reddit to bemoan what he believes is a lack of recognition single fathers receive when compared with single mothers.
The post was made when the father took to the 'unpopular opinion' Reddit subforum, where social media users can share their "unpopular" opinions with other Redditors, who will then comment on whether they think the original poster is actually in the right.
In this instance, the man (writing under the handle 'The_local_unknown11') wrote in a post on the site: "Being a single dad with half custody is just as hard as being a single mom but I don't have a rally cry of support behind me."
In the post in question, the man wrote:
"My ex has women telling her on social media how amazing she is for raising kids in her own and how strong and independent she is for picking herself up after the divorce (that she caused with her affair) and being a mom. I have none of that.
"[It's] not that my friends don't think I'm a good dad, [it's] that as a society, we have made the single mom a sort of unsung hero. What about single dads? We do the same s***.
"I work and take care of my kids the same way but I don't get celebrated like I'm doing something amazing. I just get the recognition that almost all dads get... nothing. [sic]"
The post quickly picked up a lot of attention from other social media users, and from other single fathers who felt much the same way.
For instance, one person wrote: "I think single dads definitely have it harder. Single moms seem to have so much more geared towards helping them, while dads don't have anything.
"I've actually seen first hand discrimination between the two at jobs I've worked at, where moms have been given preferential treatment, but dads have been told to: 'tough it out.' My hat goes off to all single dads."
Another person wrote: "My ex got a free Christmas tree because she was a single mom. Have heard of other preferential treatments at places for being a single mom.
"She doesn’t work still even after divorce, I pay for almost all her life. Nobody gives a d*** that I’m a single dad who is not only doing my half but also working on top of it to pay her. Divorce is f***ed up for men."
Someone else stated: "Ay man I'm living this exactly as I read this... I have physical custody of my son who is 4 and boy it is so much work all day long.
"Wake up early to feed him and get us both ready, take him to school, go to work, pick him up, cook, play, shower, put him to bed, repeat. Wouldn't trade it for the world though. [sic]"
Meanwhile, some other Redditors praised the dad and gave him some kind words of encouragement.
For instance, one person stated: "You sound like an amazing Dad. I wish I had a Dad like you when I was young. My parents separated when I was 5 and Mom was pregnant with my brother.
"After the split, I hardly seen my Dad. He would pick me up from school one in a while and I would see him maybe twice a month. My brother never got to have a relationship with him."
In a follow-up post, the dad thanked those who had given him their support, writing: "Well this blew up. I'd like to say that I really appreciate the kind words of me being a good single dad."
He added: "To those that disagree or say: 'man up,' that's why I put this in unpopular opinions. Not everybody agrees and that's just fine."
