In a viral Facebook post and a blog post for Today, Cyndy Gatewood makes the case that dads need to take more photos.
She first became aware of the imbalance between photos taken by moms and dads when she noticed a bunch of pictures of her husband with her kids — but none of her with them — on her own phone. "But it doesn't have to be that way," she wrote. Pictures are what help her remember her own late mother, she explained, and selfies just don't capture the poignant moments between parents and their children. Her Facebook post shows a photo of her with her daughter to illustrate what she means.
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Of course, her advice would apply to any parent, not just men raising children with women. But because it does seem like there are a lot of mom selfies out there, as opposed to dads carefully posed with kids, she's calling on dads with female partners in particular to correct this.
"One night when she's lying in bed reading a story to your daughter, whip out your phone and take a picture," she wrote. "Time goes by so fast and everyday these sweet babies are getting older and older. Before we know it, they'll be packing up their cars and moving off to college. Take the picture. One day she'll be gone and all the kids have left of her are memories. Take the picture. Take the pictures to show them the love she had for them. Take the pictures so they can always remember how silly she was. Take the pictures so they can see how beautiful she was. It doesn't matter if she's in her pajamas and on day 4 of dry shampoo, please, take the picture."
Welcome to Mothership: Parenting stories you actually want to read, whether you're thinking about or passing on kids, from egg-freezing to taking home baby and beyond. Because motherhood is a big if — not when — and it's time we talked about it that way.
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