Frustrated Dad Says Single Moms Should Not Be Celebrated On Father's Day — But People Say It's Time We Give Credit Where It's Due
If one parent takes on both roles, shouldn’t they celebrate both holidays?
Kindel Media / Pexels Everyone is aware that Mother’s Day is for the moms of the world and Father’s Day for the dads, but sometimes it's not so simple. Not every child has both a mom and dad, so some families interpret these holidays differently.
If single moms are choosing to take credit for and celebrate themselves on Father’s Day, they likely have good reason to.
One frustrated dad took to TikTok, claiming single moms do not have the right to celebrate themselves on Father’s Day.
The man, who goes by @KCBlueEyes shared his hot take on the holiday, saying, “Listen, y’all, Father’s Day is not single Mother’s Day, OK? We don’t take away from Mother’s Day to give credit to fathers who do this all on their own. We don’t use this day to call out our deadbeat baby mamas.”
“We give the real mothers what is meant to be their day,” he continued. “With respect, please do the same for us.”
While moms and dads are certainly entitled to celebrate their rightfully earned holidays, not every parent is worth celebrating. Sometimes, single parents take on both roles for their kids, and it’s only fair that they celebrate both Mother’s and Father’s Day if that’s what they prefer.
Of course, not every single parent raises their kids on their own. There are plenty of families with reliable and hardworking single co-parents who still do their part. In these cases, even if two parents are separated, they still deserve to celebrate their contributions to their family on their designated holiday.
The dad made a reasonable point with respect to these circumstances. However, he is largely invalidating a vast community of single parents who have had to navigate parenthood all alone. These parents either celebrate their respective holiday and carry on with their lives for the other parental role’s day, or they take credit for both days. But they have every right to independently determine how they go about these holidays.
Many individuals in the comments strongly disagreed, sharing their personal reasons why single moms and dads deserve to celebrate both holidays.
One dad countered KC’s argument, commenting, “As a single father, I claim Mother’s Day too.”
In fact, countless single dads take credit for Mother’s Day in the same way single moms celebrate Father’s Day. Every family is different and celebrates holidays in their own ways, so it’s not entirely fair to stake a claim that doesn’t apply to every family and situation.
“I call out men on Mother’s Day that are doing it on their own!” another person shared. “If they are playing both roles I commend them and thank them for the AMAZING job!”
“I give credit where it's [due],” someone else argued. “If a man or woman plays both roles they get both days.”
Additionally, more often than not, it isn’t the single parents taking credit for both holidays; rather, their kids are the ones celebrating them on both days.
“Our kids are the ones that did that.. not the mothers!!” one person commented. “If our kids need to celebrate Father’s Day with their mother then that's what we are doing!”
“As a person who grew up without a father, my mother deserves both,” another person stated.
Of course, it’s not fair for single parents to take credit for both holidays when they do have a caring co-parent by their side, and in these cases, it’s important to acknowledge and respect their contributions.
But the point of the matter is, no one but the kids themselves get to decide how they celebrate their parents when these holidays come around.
In an era of diversified families, there is no right or wrong way to celebrate Mother’s or Father’s Day.
Nowadays, a parenting system can look like the traditional mom and dad, or it can look like one single mom, one single dad, or two single but involved co-parents.
Some parents look like two moms, some two dads. Some are a combination of single and stepparents, and some are legal guardians or a collective support system of relatives and friends.
In fact, there is even a significant community of "married single moms" who do have co-parents and still do everything on their own.
Each of these parents has their own personal practices of celebrating the holidays. On that note, it’s not exactly KC’s, or any parent’s for that matter, place to judge, criticize, or decide how other parents and their families choose to honor their hard work.
Raising a family is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and it's significantly more challenging when you have to do it alone. These challenges are worth acknowledging and celebrating more than once a year.
The saying, “It takes a village to raise a family,” is no exaggeration. So when single parents somehow manage to raise their kids entirely on their own, they deserve to have the extra holiday.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human-interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.