Fathers don't look after their own children – why I'm tired of double standards in parenting

Fathers don't look after their own children – why I'm tired of double standards in parenting

We need to stop praising fathers for doing the basic job of caring for their own children, writes Niamh O'Reilly

Many people seem to praise fathers for doing the bare minimum. Photo: Getty

I vividly remember being dragged to a bachelorette party 13 weeks after giving birth. I was still in the fog of postpartum depression and would rather have my eyes gouged out with a rusty spoon than be there.

Still, I wanted to give the impression that everything was fine and I went along. The other women did their best, but I didn't like it. What I remember most was how many times they congratulated my absent husband for “babysitting” his own baby the one night I was away.