These stay-at-home fathers tell you why paternity leave is important
CNN
The debate over US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg taking two months off to care for his twin newborns has reached the point of absurdity. A stay-at-home father shares the perspective of men like himself who have made raising their children a priority.
Fox News personality Tucker Carlson suggested that Buttigieg was "Trying to figure out how to breastfeed." Conservative political commentator Matt Walsh proclaimed on Twitter that there isn't much for a father to do during those first months of a child's life. Conservative activist Candace Owens called him weak, using the Twitter hashtag, #BringBackManlyMen.
While those personalities were ridiculing the role a father plays in his child's life, I was with 100 other dads attending HomeDadCon, a national conference for stay-at-home fathers. When I shared these criticisms about Buttigieg's paternity leave, I thought about hiding behind the podium in case any dads wanted to throw tomatoes at me.