Today's Father: Recognizing the Superman in Your Life

As natural nurturers, women tend to take on the stereotype of being the dominant parent . . . and with dominance comes power. I hate to admit it, but sometimes even I'm guilty of subconsciously sabotaging my partner's parenting efforts to make myself feel more important.

As wives and mothers, we need to recognize that dads interact with children differently than we do. Their techniques are neither better nor worse, just different. Dads, for example, tend to allow their children to reach a higher level of frustration than a mother would, giving them an important lesson in resilience.

Fathers serve an integral role in a child's life, and spending time with both parents teaches a child to develop an understanding of separation, transition, autonomy, and gender roles.

Here's to all of the great dads and all the men who strive to be great dads. Here's to my husband, who would probably make a better stay-at-home parent than I. He is more patient and has more experience with children; he rarely gets bored, even on the eighth reading of Green Eggs and Ham. In his downtime, he does a load of laundry and whips up a heaping platter of Beef Stroganoff when all I see in the fridge are pickles and ketchup.

After I finish this piece I will go downstairs to interrupt a reading of Dr. Seuss and to tell my husband how much I love him and how much I appreciate the work he does. I think it's time we all spent just a few minutes thinking about the pressures our husbands face, and then applaud them for all the great things they do.