Check your Dadding skills…

A few months ago an article was published  about what makes a Supermum.

I got myself rather cross, as oft I do,and wrote a post about Supermums (I get cross enough to blog not quite cross enough to declare myself ‘Livid from Leeds’ in a Daily Mail article with my very angry face on).

The list comprised of ‘important’ Mummy tasks like

Not being late for school drop off or pick up
Baking cakes
Ensuring the children had clean school uniforms
Encouraging good manners
Reading to your children
See, I thought these were just ‘things you did as a parent’ but apparently not….

Today an equally patronising list was released.
The Top 50 Dad Skills (with a Dad they’re skills, with a Mum they’re ‘things we do to show off’).
The list was created after polling 2000, yes two whole thousand Daddies.
I don’t know how these Dads were chosen, maybe they’re just REALLY good at Dadding.

This “…huge list of ‘Dad Skills’ show just how many roles dads have to fill in the upbringing of their children. They’re fixers, builders, comedians, sportsmen, the list is endless”

Well, not quite endless, it’s a Top 50 after all. The list comprises all the ‘important’ Daddy skills like

Blowing up balloons
Role play
Anything to do with tech.
DIY
Flipping pancakes
Barbecuing.

Again I got rather cross, it’s another list of not fantastically important skills in the nurturing and development of our children.

Rather it’s a list of what men think make them rather manly.

I don’t understand why, in the 21st century, some people still feel the need to define themselves as good parents by how feminine or masculine they are.
Our children love us regardless.
They love us because of tickles and silly faces.
They love us because we carry them if they’re tired.
They love us because we love them.
They don’t care if we buy a cake or make a cake.
They don’t care if we fix a hole or pay a person to do it.
They only care that we are there when they need us to be and sometimes when they don’t.
As parents we have an important role to play and the only people we should be trying to impress are our children.
As parents we (I) spend a lot of time doubting ourselves, we don’t need to be encouraged to compare ourselves to others.

HOWEVER
Just out of interest both Rory and I checked ourselves against the lists.
I scored 57.5% on the ‘Supermum’ list and 58% on the Top 50 Dad skills list.
Rory scored 47.5% on the ‘Supermum’ list and 58% on the Top 50 Dad skills list.

Therefore, I have deduced that I am Bi-parent. I am equal part Mummy and Daddy.

What about you?