'Dadchelor' Parties Give Fathers-to-Be the Pregnancy Attention They Deserve
Pregnancy is basically the last time in a woman's life when everything is all about her. It's like the minute people see a protruding baby bump, they immediately rush to fawn all over the mom-to-be by pampering her, opening doors, telling her to relax and put her feet up -- and of course there's the whole baby shower thing.
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I never really thought about it too much during my own pregnancy, but it's pretty easy to see where dads-to-be can wind up feeling a bit left out, like they really aren't part of the equation at all. And that's why I'm totally in favor of the growing trend of men having "Dadchelor parties" as a final send-off into parenthood from their buddies.
Yes, "Dadchelor" parties, as in bachelor parties for men who are about to embark on the journey of parenting and say goodbye to nights out with the boys forever. (Or at least until the kid is out of diapers.)
Ok, so what exactly happens at these popular male-bonding sessions? Well, it depends on the dude in question, I guess. Tori Spelling's husband, Dean McDermott, was thrown one of these shin-digs, and he and his friends went to a clay shooting range for some good old fashioned testosterone-filled fun. Of course, they also wound up making flower arrangements to take home to their families, so it's not like the entire day was centered around masculinity.
And while these Dadchelor parties seem to be gaining more stamina now that the Hollywood types have hopped on board, they've actually been around for a while. Last year, The Huffington Post did a piece on the phenomenon, and detailed a party of one dad-to-be whose send-off into fatherhood included a pub crawl around the city. And the dad who planned the booze fest summed up the reasoning for having the party perfectly: "Let's have one more night where responsible decisions don't matter."
I guess that makes sense, as long as whatever "irresponsible decisions" are made are at least made within the realm of what is considered socially acceptable for married men. ('Nuff said.)
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If these Dadchelor parties had existed back when I was expecting my son, I would've been all for my husband having one and enjoying one last hurrah. Why shouldn't dads get to enjoy just as much fuss and attention as the moms? Isn't it better for them to get the party bug out of their system before the baby arrives as opposed to stumbling home drunk at three o'clock in the morning and being scolded for being out having fun while their wife has been up for hours trying to comfort a screaming baby?
What do you think -- does your man deserve a Dadchelor party? (And do you trust him to behave if he has one?)
Image via The Lesch Family/Flickr
Written by Mary Fischer on CafeMom's blog, The Stir.
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