Man Has A Million Questions For Barely Conscious Wife Instead Of Managing Her Medical Emergency

Being a mother and being a father sometimes are wildly different experiences. This is partly reflected in people’s attitudes towards having children. According to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 57% of men want to someday become parents, and only 45% of women say the same.

This story is a perfect example of why women might feel discouraged from becoming parents. When his wife was having a medical emergency, the father was unable to take care of his four children. He kept pestering her about bedtime stories and sippy cups while she was half-conscious in the bathroom. So, the story sparked a conversation online: how low is the bar for fathers in today’s society?

A dad showed complete incompetence in parenting when his wife was having a medical emergency

Young man appears clueless and stressed, holding his head while his wife suffers from a high fever at home.

Image credits: mike.shots / freepik (not the actual photo)

The wife’s BFF tended to her in the bathroom and yelled at the husband for being “useless”

Alt text: Husband stands cluelessly beside wife who is fainting with a high fever, showing signs of helplessness and confusion.

Alt text: Clueless husband stands and watches as wife passes out with 104-degree fever showing concern and helplessness.

Woman suffering from high fever sits leaning over toilet, appearing weak and ill with 104-degree fever symptoms.

Image credits: EyeEm / freepik (not the actual photo)

Clueless husband standing passively as wife passes out with a 104-degree fever in a chaotic bathroom scene.

ALT text: Clueless husband stands watching as wife with 104-degree fever passes out while others help her with care.

Alt text: confused husband watching wife pass out with high fever while managing family and household tasks

Clueless husband standing and watching as wife passes out with a high 104-degree fever at home.

Alt text: Husband stands clueless while wife passes out with a high fever showing signs of distress on the couch.

Young woman in a striped shirt holding her forehead, showing signs of illness and fever in a home setting.

Image credits: photoroyalty / freepik (not the actual photo)

Alt text: Clueless husband watching as wife passes out from high 104-degree fever during medical emergency at home

Image credits: aitauselessdad

Moms still do more housework and parenting on average, but dads feel more judged when they do it

Dads like this one sure give the rest a bad rap. Yet not all fathers are so incompetent and clueless when it comes to parenting. According to the 2023 Pew Research Center study, 25% of dads think fatherhood is the most important part of their identity. 61% of dads say it’s one of the most important aspects.

Still, mothers are doing a bigger share of caregiving activities than fathers. According to the 2023 State of America’s Fathers study by Equimundo, 72% of mothers do more than two hours of childcare, household, and mental load. In contrast, 62% of men report doing similar levels of care.

But it doesn’t mean that fathers are more likely to be “useless,” “lazy,” or “incompetent,” like the stereotypes would have us believe. Some dads just don’t want to face backlash for the ways they care for their kids. The Pew survey showed that fathers are more likely than mothers to feel judged by their partner (56%), their parents (47%), other parents in the community (41%), friends (35%), and even by people online (31%) for how they parent.

That may be why dads spend the most time playing with their kids, and moms take the bigger share of physical caregiving and education-related activities. Fathers are still the breadwinners in most American households, but most Americans believe that moms and dads should focus equally on work and on taking care of the kids at home. Unfortunately, this equality isn’t a reality.

Traditional gender roles still persist in how much housework mothers and fathers each do

Image credits:  Andrej Lišakov / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Many adults today believe that today’s dads are far better fathers than their own dads. Yet American fathers themselves don’t think so. According to a 2022 YouGov survey, 35% of dads believe they’re doing a worse job than their own fathers. In contrast, the majority (29%) of the general U.S. population believes that they’re doing a better job.

A lot of parenting responsibilities are still perceived as gendered, even in today’s world. As per the State of America’s Fathers study, 39% of fathers believe that a man’s word in the household should be final. Only 20% of mothers believe the same. Similarly, 25% of fathers believe that changing diapers is a mother’s responsibility, and only 18% of mothers agree.

Future prospects for more involved dads also might be dimmer than we think, as 25% of fathers believe that boys should not be taught to take care of the household (only 16% of mothers agree). What’s more, dads think that their sons shouldn’t be encouraged to take care of their siblings.

In the end, we might not be moving toward equality at all. Dr. Inga Lass, senior research fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, says that gender norms play a big role in how housework is divided between the wife and the husband.

“I think it starts with how boys and girls are being raised, and what they’re being taught. There’s this hypothesis that women are often more judged if the house is a bit messy, while men are cut some slack.”

“She wants her kids to have a dad”: The friend explained the mom’s reasoning to stay with the useless husband, even if it was misguided

Alt text: Clueless husband watches as wife passes out with 104-degree fever, showing neglect during serious illness.

Clueless husband standing and watching as wife passes out showing high fever symptoms at home.

Reddit comment discussing clueless husband standing and watching as wife passes out with 104-degree fever, highlighting neglect.

Comment section discussion about a clueless husband and wife with a 104-degree fever, highlighting parenting and relationship issues.

Reddit comments discussing clueless husband and wife passing out with high fever, highlighting family and care issues.

Clueless husband stands watching while wife passes out with high fever, showing lack of awareness and concern.

Comment with husband showing clueless expression while wife passes out with high fever at home.

Alt text: Clueless husband stands and watches as wife passes out with a 104-degree fever, showing neglect and concern.

Comment thread discussing clueless husband watching wife pass out with high fever, highlighting irresponsible parenting concerns.

Clueless husband stands by as wife passes out with high fever, showing concern and confusion in home setting.

Commenters piled on the dad: “Sometimes harsh truth is needed”

Comment text from user about clueless husband standing and watching wife with high fever, highlighting lack of action.

Comment text on a social platform criticizing lazy uninvolved dads and emphasizing the importance of bedtime routines.

Comment text discussing a clueless husband watching his wife pass out with a 104-degree fever, expressing frustration.

Clueless husband standing and watching worried as wife passes out with high 104-degree fever at home.

Comment on social media showing a clueless husband watching his wife pass out with a 104-degree fever.

Clueless husband stands by as wife battles 104-degree fever, showing no concern during her medical emergency.

Clueless husband standing and watching as wife collapses suffering from a high 104-degree fever at home.

Clueless husband standing and watching while wife passes out with high fever, appearing unbothered indoors.

Man stands cluelessly watching as wife passes out with a high 104-degree fever in an emergency situation at home.

Clueless husband stands watching wife pass out with high fever, showing distress and lack of response in a stressful situation

Clueless husband stands and watches as wife passes out with high 104-degree fever, showing inaction during emergency.

Clueless husband stands helplessly watching as wife passes out with 104-degree fever during medical crisis at home.

Clueless husband stands and watches as wife passes out with high fever, showing concern but no action.

Comment criticizing clueless husband standing and watching as wife passes out with 104-degree fever, ignoring medical priority.

Clueless husband standing while worried wife passes out with a 104-degree fever in a home setting.

Clueless husband standing and watching as wife passes out from a 104-degree fever, showing concern and helplessness.

Clueless husband stands and watches worried wife passing out with 104-degree fever in a home setting.

Comment on Reddit post stating a man needs a reality check, reacting to a clueless husband watching wife pass out with 104-degree fever.

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