‘Baby Blues’ Comic Strip on Maternal Gatekeeping

Los Angeles, CA–The cartoon above from Rick Kerkman and Jerry Scott is a nice depiction of the way some mothers discourage fathers from parenting, often without even realizing that they’re doing it. Then they feel stressed because the childcare burden is “all on them.” It can be an easy trap to fall into. One of the most bizarre cultural stereotypes is the idea that men aren’t good at caring for babies.
I can’t think of anything I’ve ever done that came to me as easily and naturally as caring for my daughter when she was a baby. And sorry, since it’s my blog, you’ll all have to look at a picture of my little girl in my arms when she was just 6 weeks old…