What was wrong with “Mothering Sunday?”
By Matthew Hopper, 01 Feb 2010

The support organisations for single parents, www.OnlyDads.org is calling for the return of Mothering Sunday to replace the altogether too commercial and narrow “Mother’s Day”.

OnlyDads suggest that in a society where more and more men are taking on an active role in their children’s upbringing – the rise of the “stay-at-home-Dad” has been a feature of the last few years – coupled with the surprisingly large number of households where Dads are the Primary career for their children; holding onto the old phraseology of “Mothering Sunday”, would allow all of us to celebrate the Mothering qualities of caring and nurturing, which can and should transcend gender.
Bob Greig, founder of OnlyDads explains that in part, some of the motivation for setting up the UKs first support organisation for single Dads and their children, arose from his own children’s experiences of “Mothers Day” at their local Church Primary School.

Anya, my youngest, told me that she had asked her teacher if she could make a card for her Dad instead of her Mum. The teacher thought about it and agreed, but suggested that Anya might like to sit at the back of the class so the other children wouldn’t keep asking her “why”?.

Like all single dads bringing up children, Bob recognises that while Mum might not be playing an active parenting role, his girls enjoy “Mothering” from a range of other sources too; grandma’s, aunties, teachers, friends, and neighbours... as well as from Dad.

We are convinced going back to “Mothering Sunday” will allow society to reflect and appreciate the wider role of “Mothering” that can be missed if we just concentrate on “Mothers”. Society is changing. Dads are becoming more involved with their children. You can see this in any supermarket you walk into. Dad with kids is becoming a norm.

Above his office desk, Bob has a quotation that reads..
..to nourish children and raise them against the odds is in any time, and place, more valuable than fixing cars or designing nuclear weapons”...Marilyn French.
When an all male organisation like OnlyDads can celebrate the words of a radical feminist without flinching, we know the world is changing for the better.


Written by Bob Grieg

www.OnlyDads.org