Dad stereotypes: what are they?

Dad stereotypes: what are they?

By Babysits
4 min read

Do you feel like stereotypes surrounding dads have changed in recent years? According to different cultures, it is widely known that societal views regarding the difference between dads and moms have improved. Both parents are now seen as equal partners in terms of raising their children. Despite this, dads still believe that society considers them to be less important than moms.

Before reading this article, we want to inform you that a family is not always made up of a mom and a dad. Whether a family is made up of a mom and dad, 2 moms, 2 dads, one single mother or father or a completely different combination - a family must always be a union shaped by support, cohesion and, last but not least, love. We clearly want to address every type of family and parent with this article.

Babysits cares about dads all around the world! We asked their opinion about how they view themselves as parents in comparison to how society views them. We have conducted a survey among fathers from 30 different countries. It is interesting to hear the opinions of many cultures around the world in order to see the differences and similarities.
Our main focus was dads of teenagers and younger children in order to hear the opinion of the new generation of fathers, as society has changed a lot since the traditional role of a father.

Through our research, our main goals were to find out:

  • What society thinks of dads
  • What dads think of themselves

stereotypes of dads

What society thinks of dads

It’s interesting to analyze society’s point of view, especially between countries.
From the survey, we can deduce three main issues:

  • Dads are judged negatively. This is due to social norms, such as paternity leave and media influence, which highlights the idea of a non-committed dad and a housewife mom;

  • Society has low expectations for dads; it views moms as the main educator putting dads in second place since they work a lot and don’t have enough time to spend with their children;

  • Society describes dads as the provider and protector, a description that does not give us a complete insight into the role of a dad. Do dads judge themselves in the same way?

What dads think of themselves

Dads’ opinions are actually different from society's:

  • Although they have a different approach to parenting, they still feel important. Dads feel that it is necessary that both parents are involved when raising their children. Each parent adds value to the child’s upbringing. Moms and dads combined parenting can complement each other and add great value to their child’s upbringing.

  • The difference is not due to being a man or woman, it is due to personality. It is obvious that a mother will have a different bond with the child as she carried the baby for nine months. But, the dad can also build a strong bond with their child, it may be different but still equally important.

  • Society describes a dad mainly as the provider of the family; the traditional image of a dad is the one who goes to work to provide the family with food and a safe home. Whereas the mom stays at home to care for the kids. However, dads of today feel that this is an outdated image. Nowadays both of the parents work, as two incomes are required to raise a child comfortably (it seems like a contradiction doesn’t it?);

  • Society portrays the dad as the strict and authoritative parent; on the other hand, dads see themselves as responsible, available, reliable and attentive parents. A dad is there for his kids, to help them when there is a problem at school when they want to watch their favorite cartoon when they have to teach them how to ride a bike, and much more.


Maybe they are not perfect, but neither are moms! There is no right or wrong when it comes to raising a family. Don’t blame yourself if you have to work a lot and can’t spend a lot of time with your kid. We believe that the role assigned by society doesn’t exist anymore, everyone is different, you are special to your kids. They will always love you and they will one day understand all the sacrifices that you made for them.

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