Unless it’s the dreaded paternity test segment on daytime TV shows like Maury, "paternity" is not a word heard often during discussions on parenting. Hell, even “fatherhood” ranks low on the parental vocabulary list. When it comes to raising kids, mothers are still expected to handle the basics, including the messy ones.
In a heartfelt story posted on Facebook about the trials of being a father, Clint Edwards made a tiny but very important step for dads everywhere, and it all began with his poopy toddler.
“I'm calling this a win! The church I attend didn't have a changing table in the men's room,” Edwards began his post which included an image of a Koala Kare changing station logo. “As a father with a young child I really hate when I can't change my kid. This isn't to say that I enjoy changing a squirmy poopy toddler. I don't. No one does. But I dislike placing the full burden of changing every single diaper on my wife even more. This whole parenting gig is a partnership.”
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Edwards then detailed the frustrations most parents face when it’s time to change the kiddies: no changing tables in the men’s bathroom. So what’s a dad to do? Change his tot on the disgusting floor of a public restroom or ask mom to literally do the dirty work...again? In the Edwards home, the latter usually wins.
Yet as Edwards went on to explain, the real struggle happens when he’s out alone with the kids and is left with no option other than to change his kid’s diaper in the parking lot. “I have serious empathy for those single dads with young children who are doing this without backup,” he explained.
He wanted to do something. “So I brought all this up with some people at my church. I mentioned my frustration. I was that irritating dad who asked for change,” Edwards said.
Some time later he showed up to church on Sunday and boom: a changing station was added to their men’s bathroom.
One small step for one man, one giant leap for parents everywhere. Read the rest of Edwards' note below.