A young father took to Reddit for opinions after his neighbors chewed him out for helping his daughter pretend. It was the role she wanted to play that caused them some heartburn. Here is the full story.
He’s Raising Her Alone
OP is a 24-year-old man who has a 5-year-old daughter. He’s a single father since the little girl’s mother wants nothing to do with her.
She Wants to Work
At her age, one of OP’s daughter’s favorite pastimes is to pretend she’s an adult with a job.
She’s a Curious Girl
She really pays attention to every adult she meets or sees, often asking them what they do for a living.
Many times, OP ends up explaining the job to his daughter.
She Changes Hats a Lot
And almost without fail, OP’s daughter decides that the latest job she hears about is the one she wants to have as an adult.
She Can Be Anything
So over the course of a few months, OP’s daughter set her sights on being a teacher, a babysitter, a doctor, and the president.
It all depends on who she encounters.
He Helps Her Explore
When the little girl decides on a new “career,” she dives right in, too.
And OP does his best to encourage his daughter to explore her interests.
He Decks Her Out
As much as he can afford to do it, OP buys his little girl tools and toys that relate to whatever her current interest is.
She Looked Smashing
Not long ago, for example, OP bought his daughter a yellow vest and a badge when she decided she was going to be a soccer steward.
An Old Friend Dropped By
More recently, an old friend came to visit OP.
While she was there, his daughter asked the woman what she did for a living.
She Was Fascinated
The friend explained that she was a housewife, and OP’s daughter spent the rest of the afternoon asking questions about what it was like to stay at home.
She Has a New Focus
So, naturally, OP’s daughter now wants to be a stay-at-home mom.
And she already has a head start since she helps 3 little friends of hers with homework on a regular basis.
Trouble Was Brewing
As usual, OP thought it was just fine that his daughter was exploring new ideas.
But it turns out not everyone felt the same way.
She Didn’t Have Time Chat
The day after the friend’s visit, OP and his daughter ran into neighbors on the way back from the grocery store.
Staying in character, the little girl told the couple that she was heading home to fix dinner for her husband and kids.
They Were Confused
The neighbors shot some odd looks at OP and his daughter, then said goodbye.
They Had Some Concerns
But later that evening, the couple showed up at OP’s door and wanted to have a private talk about what his daughter had said to them.
She Was Just Pretending
OP explained that the little girl was just pretending and trying out different careers to see what she might want to do when she grows up.
Her latest target was being a stay-at-home mom.
He Was Damaging Her
The neighbors weren’t amused, though, and told OP he was damaging his daughter by allowing her to role play in such an outdated role.
They Said He Was Sexist
They went on to call OP stupid and ignorant, and just made him feel like a terrible father overall.
They demanded that he stop brainwashing the little girl with sexist ideas.
He Feels Sick
Now, OP feels panicked and guilty. The last thing in the world he wants to do is hurt his daughter.
He Thought He Was a Good Dad
OP thought he was doing the right thing by encouraging his daughter to explore possible careers in her playtime.
But now he’s having second thoughts about all of it.
They Were Way Out of Line
Redditors think the neighbors were way out of line and agree with OP that all he is doing is supporting his daughter.
Even some commenters who hate the idea of pigeonholing people into gender roles think that encouraging the little girl to explore as much as possible is the right way to go.
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The post He’s Training His Daughter to Be a Housewife. Is He a Misogynistic Jerk? first appeared on Career Step Up.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Georgii Tarasevych. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit
