pants“Daddy, you are the boss in our family.”

That was a statement from my six year old daughter. I paused. I let her sentence sink in for a bit. I realized that this was one of those important parenting moments. All parenting moments are important, but this one I felt was something I needed to get right.

Before I go into what I told her I want to let you all know that in our household my wife and I consider ourselves equal. In a household that is raising two daughters, my wife and I want to show that a woman is just as important as a man. As a father I want to raise strong and independent daughters. I want them to feel that they can accomplish anything that a man can.

I am very grateful to have a wife that is the best role model any daughter can have. She is smart, beautiful, and caring. I tell my wife that if we do our parenting right they will be just like her when they are older. She is also the breadwinner in our household. I am the stay at home dad. I get a few questions here and there about why I stay home with the kids.

Sometimes I get, “No, what do you really do?” or “You don’t feel a bit less of a man since your wife makes more than you?”

Still with those statements I also get, “It is really cool that you get to be home with your daughters.” or “I am bit jealous.”

So you see that there is some progress in our country and there are still areas of improvements to be made. That is why I feel it is imperative for me and my wife to not only tell our kids, but to show our kids that everyone is equal.

Getting back to that important parenting moment I sat down next to my daughter to talk. I told her that in our house that mommy and daddy are equal. We respect each other. We both make the rules in our house. We discuss and agree on how we act as parents. I pulled my youngest into this conversation too.

I told them both that when they get older and if they decide to get married to that certain someone that they should have that person treat them as an equal. A healthy relationship allows both people to have a voice. It may have been a bit much for a six and four year old to take in, but it is never too early to help set a good foundation on creating a healthy relationship.

Hopefully the idea of equality in a relationship is something that my wife and I can reinforce in our daughters each year as they get older. We just need to make it a point to lead and teach by example. It doesn’t matter if you are wearing pants, shorts, skirts, or jeans. You and your partner should have an equal voice.