At-Home Dads, Saviors of Sane Parenting(?) The most original at-home dad piece that I've run across today was actually one that ran in my local paper. The Washington Post published an outlook piece by SAHD Mark Trainer that pointed out an interesting element of the whole fatherhood thing: there is no preconceived notion of what an involved father looks like. According to Trainer, we operate in a kind of societal-expectation-free zone that is -- or should be -- liberating. Read the whole piece just so you can get the conclusion:

So in the early weeks of my new arrangement -- having given up on finding a role model, instead chugging forward by my own lights -- I've begun to meditate on this hopeful thought: Maybe we father-caregivers are the antidote to all that parenting stress. Maybe we're the ones who can bring some individuality and eccentricity back into parenting without feeling the need to look over our shoulders to see if we're being judged to be playing our role properly. Study us closely, moms. We may be better at this than you think.

Of course, just three pages later in the Post's Outlook section, we learn that if dads are to lead any parenting revolutions, we'll have to republish the childrearing cannon: this piece says parenting books pretty much ignore men. And when men are mentioned, it's negative about a third of the time.

Radio Daze: In addition to the print onslaught, those with a hankering to listen to your fill of dad stories can check out this "Sound Money" report (self-promotion warning: I'm in this one, briefly) and this edition of KQED's Forum.