Dear Abby: More men need to step up and share childcare duties

DEAR ABBY: I often wonder why men don't care for their children like women do. In my lifetime, I have known only one man who changed diapers, did naps and baths, took kids to daycare or school, attended most events in the child's life and was there for the child 24 hours a day. (He's the man I married.) Most men I know think all of the above are the woman's responsibility alone, even if she works full time. I can only assume it dates back to cavemen days or life on the prairie. - VALUED IN INDIANA

DEAR VALUED: Ideally, the responsibilities of child care should be shared. You didn't mention your age, but over the past couple of decades I have been impressed to see fathers proudly carrying their babies in a sling or pushing them in strollers. They also take older children out for a Sunday breakfast, to their sporting events as well as to professional sports events.

I don't know what their home lives are like, and neither do you, but they appear to be very much involved in their children's lives. In decades past, men thought that working long hours to provide for their families was what they were supposed to do, and therefore were less hands-on than your husband.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.