Hello, Father’s Day and men staying home to raise their children.

I know I wasn’t all that unusual, other than being exceptional, you know, when I decided to stay home with the little dudes way back in the previous century. I love being able to say that. The previous century. As if that was all that long ago.

Anyway, there it was on Sunday in the St. Augustine Record, in a lovely little story by Sheldon Gardner.

Apparently, men are staying home and taking care of the kids. I know. Shocking, right?

“More and more fathers are full-time caregivers to their children either because their wives work or their female partners work outside the home,” said Krista Paulsen, chair and associate professor of the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of North Florida.

Becoming more outdated is the family model with a reserved father whose main role is provider, Paulsen said. Men are contributing more time to child care and are becoming more enthusiastic about it.

“Their attitudes about parenting change quite a bit,” she said.

It seems there are a couple of reasons for this “sudden” influx of men into the household. For starters, some men want to be home for their little dudes and dudettes more than their fathers were. I can understand that one. I mean, my dad was there for me, but it was only by working his butt off to make it that he was able to be there. His job tried to keep him away a lot more than he wanted.

Another reason is that more families are finding that they have to have both parents work to support the family. Or that the woman in the relationship is making more money than the man of the family. (Hello!)

(Jeff) Tarr (a stay-at-home dad profiled in the story) has also realized the negative perceptions that some people have of stay-at-home fathers. Some people have told him that men are supposed to be the primary workers. Some people think he just hangs out all day.

They don’t know what it takes, he said. Choosing to be a stay-at-home dad forced him to put down his ego and do what is best for his family, he said.

“Being the man of the house may mean you have to stay at home,” he said.

Interesting call there from Mr. Tarr. I think I’d like this dude.

So there you go. It’s a brand-new thing, dudes staying home to be dads. Glad the newspaper discovered it. It will now be unremarked upon for the next year until we near Father’s Day once again. Can’t wait.

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Given a chance, most little dudettes and dudes love reading as well, as long as they can find the written words that actually interest them and are on their level — not too hard, not too easy.

The problem is that reading isn’t as easy to do as watch television or play a video game or ride a bike. All of these things simply require either a simple flip of the switch or a decision to go outside. Reading takes more mental effort, in that you can’t simply sit there passively and take in the story like you can television.

However, studies have shown again and again that the more you read, the better is your vocabulary. And the better your vocabulary, the more success you’ll find once you enter the working world, all other things begin equal.

Over at Awesome Elementary School, reading was emphasized more than any other basic skill. The better reader a student is, the better she’ll be at math, or science or social studies. Anything really. If she doesn’t have to work on reading while doing her science homework, she can actually concentrate on the science part, not what the next word means.

Which brings me to summer. See, growing up, I never had this problem. My ideal summer day consisted of waking up in the afternoon, heading out to enjoy the setting summer sun, and just goofing off until after dinner. I’d watch a little tv and then head up to my room, which was where the fun began. I’d haul out the book I was reading and then get started. And I wouldn’t stop. Even when my parents came into my room and turned off the light, I’d get out a flashlight and read under the covers.

I know it sounds like a cliché, but it’s true. I’d read until the early morning hours and then sleep until the afternoon and start the whole cycle over gain.

But I understand that a lot of kids aren’t like that. Which means it’s up to you parents to help set them on the right path.

I seriously advocate that you set aside an hour a day for reading with your child. If you’re a stay-at-home parent, that should be easy. Just do it during the hottest part of the day and you’ll avoid too much sun while also broadening both of your horizons. If you’re working, try to set aside that time with your child during the evening.

Turn off the television and both of you haul out a book. After all, he shouldn’t be the only one having a good time. And, when your child sees you read, they realize that it’s cool to do so. This is the kind of behavior you want to model. You know, rather than showing the kid how to curse when someone cuts you off in traffic.

You also can schedule trips to the local library for more books. Libraries are wonderful. Truly. I mean, you can go in there, wander around all day and find book after book after book that interest you and then — wonder of wonders — the library lets you take them home to enjoy at your leisure. All without paying a single cent.

That is fantastic!

One of my favorite things about the library is that it also has a ton of audiobooks. My middle young dude, Zippy the College Boy, isn’t a big reader, but he loves listening to books. Unfortunately, audiobooks are expensive. Thank goodness for the library, then.

And many libraries have story times during the summer as well. You can bring your little dude and dudette into the library and listen to some pretty fantastic stories in the air conditioning. And leave with even more books.

Reading: not only is it fun, but it’s been shown to prevent brain rot in most little dudes and dudettes. Give it a shot.

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We’ll be appearing on NBC’s Charlotte Today morning show, which runs from 11 am to noon on channel 36 locally in Charlotte.

Conversely, if you can’t catch us live, you can always go to their website for WCNC and click on the Charlotte Today link. Or just click that back there in the last sentence and it will take you straight to the Charlotte Today site. Darn convenient, yeah?

So, Barry and Richard will be appearing on the show to talk about summertime from a dad’s point of view. That is, what do dudes do over the summer when they’ve got their kids at home?

Good question, really.

Let’s hope we can answer it.

Tune in and find out.

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