Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • The Atlantic

    The Stay-at-Home Dads Who Don’t Stay Home

    “There’s no rule that says that you have to do kid-centric things when you’re parenting your child. Your kids just want to be a part of your life.”
    by Julie Beck Feb 25, 2022 7 minutes
    Source: Wenjia Tang

    Each installment of “The Friendship Files” features a conversation between The Atlantic’s Julie Beck and two or more friends, exploring the history and significance of their relationship.

    This week she talks with a group of stay-at-home dads who met at a local fathers’ group. Their wives and kids have become friends too, and now the five families spend most weekends together, take group vacations, and share the load of parenting the 16 kids they have between them. They discuss the maddeningly low expectations society has for fathers, how their friendship built up their confidence as parents, and the adventures they’ve shared.

    The Friends:

    Mike Bowling, 45, a stay-at-home dad and videographer who lives in Shawnee, Kansas
    Larry Broxterman, 46, a stay-at-home dad and entrepreneur who lives in Bonner Springs, Kansas
    Shannon Carpenter, 47, a stay-at-home dad and the author of The Ultimate Stay-at-Home Dad, who lives in Lee’s Summit, Missouri
    Mick Freyermuth, 50, a stay-at-home dad who lives in Kansas City, Missouri
    Jake Knapitsch, 41, a stay-at-home dad and woodworker who lives in Lenexa, Kansas

    This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

    ​​Julie Beck:Tell me how you found each other.

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from The Atlantic

    The Atlantic4 min read
    Hayao Miyazaki’s Anti-war Fantasia
    Once, in a windowless conference room, I got into an argument with a minor Japanese-government official about Hayao Miyazaki. This was in 2017, three years after the director had announced his latest retirement from filmmaking. His final project was
    The Atlantic5 min read
    The Strangest Job in the World
    This is an edition of the Books Briefing, our editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for it here. The role of first lady couldn’t be stranger. You attain the position almost by accident, simply by virtue of being married to the president
    The Atlantic2 min read
    Preface
    Illustrations by Miki Lowe For much of his career, the poet W. H. Auden was known for writing fiercely political work. He critiqued capitalism, warned of fascism, and documented hunger, protest, war. He was deeply influenced by Marxism. And he was hu

    Related