In a story from Reuters titled Few Effects of Poor Daycare Last Past Age 11, they examine a study for the Child Journal. This, in and of itself, is interesting, but not what caught my eye. What did catch my eye was the definition used for “child care provider:”

Child care was defined as regularly scheduled care by anyone other than the child’s mother, lasting at least 10 hours per week.

Anyone other than the child’s mother. So, apparently, it’s not just Divorced Fathers that are “child care providers,” it’s also seems to be married fathers as well. When a definition like that can make it into such a large study covered by Reuters you can’t tell me that the perception of fathers as “babysitters” is not deeply ingrained in this culture.

Interesting. Maybe when next tax season rolls around, I’ll claim all of my child rearing expenses for my son as child care expenses.

This also speaks to one of the stories I received last night in response to my call for Divorced Dads’ stories. Ronald wrote in his entry that his own children have forbidden him from using the term “babysit” in regard to them. Good for you Ronald. And good for your sons.