A father of three kids under the age of five, Jason was used to receiving praise from strangers for performing simple parenting duties like watching his kids for five minutes in public.
“Something no one tells you about becoming a father is that it’s a huge confidence boost,” says Jason. “I mean, when I just leave the house with my kids, someone’s there waiting for me, complimenting me on being an involved dad. It’s almost spooky. For example, one day I went to check the mail with my son, and the woman waiting at the bottom of the driveway called me ‘super dad.’ I could barely keep my pants on. It’s so amazing!”
Unfortunately, years of such social conditioning led to Jason being sorely disappointed last week when he went grocery shopping with all three of his children and received no congratulations from his fellow shoppers.
“I’ll be honest with you, I was a little disappointed,” Jason said when asked for comment after a 10-minute shopping spree in which he bought a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread and, for some reason, five boxes of M&Ms.
“I mean, I did it all: loaded the kids into the car, drove them to the store, unloaded them, put two in a shopping cart, walked the third, and we all wandered around the store for a few minutes. You’d think that after all that, at least one guy would compliment me as an example of fatherhood and masculinity that all other men should aspire to. It’s the least they can do, really.”
Despite his disappointment, Jason vowed to remain involved as a father.
“Although this experience has been difficult, I will continue to strive for the praise of others,” Jason said. “I know I need to improve my skills as a father. In fact, I’m planning on taking all my kids to the mall today. If someone doesn’t compliment me on my bravery while we’re there, or at the very least, get a profile on me in the New York Times, I might just have to give up.”
A writer and father, he is the founding editor of the parenting humor magazine Frazzled on Medium. He is the author of the novel Love’s a Disaster (2024) and the humorous essay collection Fatherhood: Dispatches From the Early Years (2016). He’s probably cleaning up on a trampoline right now.
