When you think about your circle of friends and family, you probably know a few stay-at-home moms. You may be one yourself. But, how many stay-at-home dads do you know? I know only one. His name is Bart and he gives stay-at-home dads (SAHDs) a really good name.

Just in time for Father’s Day, I sat down with Bart and his amazing family to hear all about their 11-year venture into the stay-at-home dad world. Just what is life like as a SAHD, and how did they come to that decision more than a decade ago?

Bart and Teri welcomed their first child – a daughter, Camryn – in 2004. As they were preparing for her arrival, they discussed daycare, jobs, and benefits. Since Teri’s salary was higher and her job offered better health benefits, the couple decided Bart would leave his position with a local wine company to stay home with Camryn.

“It was hard leaving our daughter to go back to work,” Teri says. “But Bart would bring her to work when I missed her, and I didn’t have a lot of the worries about her bonding with a caretaker or how she was being taken care of because I knew she was with him. I felt very comfortable with it.”

However, it took some time for Bart to adapt to the new lifestyle.

“I remember the first week home alone with Camryn. I was calling Teri at work all the time asking ‘how do I do this?’ and ‘how do I do that?’ I didn’ t know if I was going to be able to stick with it,” Bart says.

But, he has stuck with it. And after adding son Parker and daughter Esme to the family and Bart having spent many years at home with the kids, Teri says Bart’s stay-at-home existence is “like a well-oiled machine.”

So, what does a SAHD do all day? Bart says that he tries his best to keep up with the cooking, the laundry, and the cleaning (and gardening during nap time), but his favorite part is enjoying fun activities with the kiddos.

“I take them to the library, go to parks, visit the Blank Park Zoo, check out the Science Center of Iowa, and so on,” Bart says.

But, isn’t he alone in a sea of moms? Well, sometimes… which he says is fun – the moms are great and accepting of him. He has also found a handful of local at-home dads to hang out with, and he has attended the National At-Home Dad Network convention several times.

Aside from meeting new friends, saving money on daycare, and getting to enjoy many fun outings, the benefits of Bart staying home go way beyond the day-to-day items.

“I think it’s really valuable seeing the relationship he has with the children and how close they are,” Teri says. “You don’t always see dads being that hands-on with their kids. It’s definitely been very good for their development.”

It also came in handy when their third child Esme refused to take a bottle the first few weeks after Teri’s maternity leave.

“He had to bring Esme out to work every day, three times a day. I would meet him in the parking lot and nurse her and then go back into work,” she says. “There’s no way that ever would have worked if we had a more traditional arrangement. I was very grateful.”

Bart says he’s grateful as well – both for the time he’s had at home with the kids and for Teri working so hard at her job as an IT Quality Assurance Analyst to provide for the family. He also knows that long trip he’s been on as a SAHD is soon coming to an end, as the youngest heads to kindergarten.

“This has been a good gig. It’s been great that I can just wake up and do lots of fun stuff with my children every day,” Bart says. “But, it’s always been in the plan that as soon as all of the kids are in school full-time, I would aim to re-enter the workforce. So, I’m hoping to do that this fall.”

As Bart says farewell to The Bold and The Beautiful and morning trips to the library, he leaves a few words of wisdom for those who may take his place on the at-home dad circuit.

“If it comes down to the guy staying home, I totally encourage it. It’s becoming more popular. You won’t regret it. It’s so rewarding, and truly… just priceless.”

The kids agree. Eleven-year-old Camryn says she cherishes all the fun day trips, and nine-year-old Parker says his favorite part has been all of the basketball they’ve played together. Five-year-old Esme was too busy playing to be interviewed. 🙂

In closing, Bart says some of the SAHDs don’t really care for the term “Mr. Mom.” He says that doesn’t quite sum up the job. He’s not a mom. The kids have an awesome mom. He’s simply a stay-at-home dad who loves his family. And while the pay isn’t the best, he wants everyone to be sure that all stay-at-home parents are earning their keep, and that it takes a special personality to do it well.

“It’s a lot of work! Really, stay-at-home dads and moms work really hard, usually with no breaks. But, it’s all good,” Bart says. “Anyway, I have more patience than my wife. I’m not sure she’d be able to do it.”

Teri laughs when she hears this. “I would agree.”

It’s 2015 – what do you think of the growing population of stay-at-home dads?