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Off to Work We Go?

Two Dads Sound Off About Going Back to Work After Baby

By Donna Smith

Franco believes that, in general, a mother has stronger parenting skills. "Children spend nine months intimately connected with their mothers and continue that connection through breastfeeding," he says. "That has to count for something – something I could never exactly replicate."

Providing for his family is important to Franco, but he gives his wife credit. "I know my wife could provide for our family, financially – maybe even better than I can," he says. "Still, there is a part of me that heavily identifies with the role of provider, but it's more than that. If I left medicine today, I would miss the patient contact, the feeling you get when you make the right diagnosis – solving the puzzle. All of those things define my picture of success. They challenge me and make me feel proud of myself. I have to believe that my children benefit from that example. They see me setting goals, attaining them and being truly happy."

"As I look out at my son playing in the yard, I see he sure has grown up," says Len Flinn, a stay-at-home father of two from High River, Alberta, Canada. "He's 7 now. Where has the time gone? It makes me wonder what is he going to be like when he grows up? Who are going to be his role models? And what will he think of me?"

Want to see more?

• Making Change Work: Husbands and Wives in Stay-At-Home-Dad Families
• Should I Stay or Should I Go? The Pros and Cons of Being a Stay-at-home Dad
• That's My Job: A Journey to Become a Stay-at-Home Dad
• Join the discussion on our Family.com community!
• Guilt and the Stay-at-Home Dad: Lessons on Letting Go and Accepting the Now

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