By Rick Kaempfer
You probably already know this if you watch television: Dads are dumb. It begins the moment we become fathers...
First time dad!
We can't be trusted to do the simplest of things, because deep down, we're really really dumb...
Daddy in the park
Anybody hungry? What would happen if really stupid Dad tried to make dinner for everyone?
Subway Commercial: The Dad Who Made Dinner
Don't let him out on the streets with his children, he's too stupid to stay out of trouble...
Daddy & Daughter
I'm not sure exactly when this trend started, but I noticed it when my kids were very young and Home Improvement was on television. Tim Allen wasn't helping our cause...
What did the Moron Have for Breakfast?
Dumb, dumb dad.
Of course the poster boy for stupid is also a father, so that really doesn't help...
Homer Simpson: Portrait Of An Idiot
And now the latest hot show on Fox has even taken it up a notch...
peter-family guy
The dumb dad stereotype has always bugged me a little bit, but I think I finally reached my breaking point the other day when I saw that commercial with the father who text messages his children at the dinner table.
That dad sets new stupidity records. I cringed at the stupid grin on his face. I cringed at the stupid giggles he can't restrain as he acts like a five year old. I cringed at the unawareness he has about the way his family really feels about him. Even his wife calls him stupid with her eyes.
"That's enough!" I said.
I turned off the television and went into the kitchen where my oldest son Tommy was working on his math homework. As usual, he didn't even acknowledge I was there.
"The answer to #3 is 3 5/8," I said, leaning over his shoulder.
"Dad," he said. "I don't want your help."
"Really?" I replied defensively. "Nobody wants dumb Dad to help out with math homework, right? Dumb Dad is obviously too stupid to help."
"Math just isn't your subject," he said.
"I think I can handle fifth grade math," I snapped.
"The answer is 3 3/8," he pointed out.
Oh.
Right.
Never mind.
You know, most stereotypes are just slightly embellished reality.
Click here to read Suburban Man's take on the unwritten ground rules of Valentine's day: Valentine's Day
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