Remember Dad this Sunday

The role of the father in Canada has been changing in recent years. Long gone are the fathers of the ‘60s sitcoms, where they holler to their wives for a drink and only see the children long enough to playfully harass, advise on life’s big questions or punish. Today on television fathers still tease their children, but also go to their school plays, baseball games and help them get ready for school.
The number of men in Canada taking paternity leave, according to a 2008 Statistics Canada report, is on the rise from 15 per cent in 2005 to 20 per cent in 2006. Also, according to the same report, the number of stay-at-home dads is also up, although not quantified
“Yet another indicator of fathers’ evolving role in caregiving is the increase in the average number of days they miss from work for personal or family responsibilities when preschool children are in the household—for example, up from 1.8 days in 1997 to 6.3 days in 2007 (Statistics Canada 2008),” according to the report.
Sunday is Father’s Day. A perfect day, as Beacon Star columnist Brian Lemkay wrote, to “treat dad with lots of compliments, and show him you care.”
You can show him you care with a special meal, have the kids make a one-of-a kind card or give him the time to indulge in a hobby, the way you do it isn’t as important as the reason behind it.

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