Is wearing a baby carrier 'emasculating' for dads?
A survey has revealed that 59% of men feel they've been 'shamed' for things like using a baby carrier, pushing a pram or taking Shared Parental Leave
Well over half of dads (59%) say they've been belittled for parenting choices, like using a baby carrier, according to a recent survey.
Other things dads say they've been put down for include pushing their baby's buggy and taking Shared Parental Leave to care for their children.
The survey was based on 1,000 men who had children in the last 2 years and carried out on behalf of Ergobaby.
We've seen this shaming around baby carriers on the news previously: you may recall GMB presenter Piers Morgan repeating the words 'papoose' super sarcastically over and over on his TV show. His comments followed on from a tweet he sent earlier in the same week to 007 star Daniel Craig, who's just become a dad again, saying:
"Oh 007.. not you as well?!!! #papoose #emasculatedBond"
?
Celebs and the public were quick to have a go at Piers on social media for his comments. One critic said: "Real men care for their offspring. Emasculated? Far from it."
And Captain America actor Chris Evans put it like this:
"You really have to be so uncertain of your own masculinity to concern yourself with how another man carries his child. Any man who wastes time quantifying masculinity is terrified on the inside."
But what do you think?
We have to say that, at the time, we were quite surprised by what Piers said – though the more recent Ergobaby survey findings seem to back up the fact that there are people out there who think it's OK to shame a dad for using a carrier.
And both Piers' comments and the survey results got us wondering: are there any dads out there who feel putting their baby in a sling / carrier might make them look less manly?
Are there men who don't even like pushing a buggy for the same reason and prefer their partners to do it if they're together?
And have any of our dads ever felt put down by friends or family for doing either?
It's definitely NOT our experience: we get loads of dads testing out buggies on our buggy track at the Baby Show but we're always interested in hearing other views.
Share yours with us on Facebook or in the comments below.
Pic: Splash News
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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