First Gentleman Daniel Mulhern stressed that fathers are and should be
taking a more active role in the development of their children at a
conference sponsored by the Michigan Head Start Association.
By the time Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration is finished, Mulhern
said he hopes his attention to the subject helps create a situation where
fathers feel better about their decision to stay home and if more fathers
are reading to their children, it would “be a great thing.”
“Are you reading to them? Are you singing to them? Are you praying with
them? Those are, to me, the three key powerful issues,” Mulhern said.
As First Gentleman, one of the many issues Mulhern is hoping to draw
attention to is the role fathers play in today's busy world in the
development of their children. Mulhern said the increasing trend of women
in the work force combined with research showing the need for early
childhood education presents a great opportunity for men to experience
what traditionally women have experienced for several generations.
Mulhern agreed that subtle, deeply imbedded stigmas still exist for
“stay-at-home dads,” a label he has taken on himself since becoming First
Gentleman. However, time, experience and exposure should diminish the
outdated perceptions about men in parenting. In just this generation,
Mulhern said his son is seeing him do things he never saw his father do.
“Women have totally celebrated their ascendancy in the public sphere,”
Mulhern said. “To what degree have we celebrated our ascendancy? Hardly at
all. The messages are those of blame and obligation.”
To help encourage fathers to stay involved in childhood development, he
and Granholm will continue speaking about the role of fathers. A lot of
the work will be symbolic, he admitted.
During the Inaugural events in January, Mulhern moderated a “First Man's
Forum” in Detroit that closely examined the role of men in families. The
forum included men who raised children on their own or who were the
husbands of prominent women. On May 6, Mulhern will moderate another
“First Man's Forum” in Grand Rapids.
On the issue of a perceived bias raised by DADS and other organizations in
regards to how courts treat fathers in child custody cases, Mulhern said
he didn't have the facts or experience to form an opinion on the subject.
But Mulhern said he wouldn't be surprised if that wasn't the case, similar
to how women are subtly discriminated at the workplace.
