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Children in Marin are uncomfortable with the smothering presence of their male parents, with many saying they encourage their dads to look for meaning elsewhere. “He’s way too into it,” said 8 year-old Inez Hartsen, as her overbearing papa attempted to interest her in building a pillow fort. “I find myself missing the distant and inscrutable paterfamilias of yesteryear.”
Hartsen isn’t alone. “Mine says ‘I love you’ at least three times on the way to school,” said embarrassed son Brad Lister. “It's actually quite maudlin. Does he have a terminal illness he's not telling me about?" But experts say dads are simply overcorrecting for past parenting dynamics. “Gone are the days when fathers would give their families space by starting another one ," said a parental analyst. “These guys are now hovering constantly, and keep asking if anyone needs more sunscreen.”
As more and more men make child-rearing into an all-encompassing identity, some kids have noticed a certain irony. “The joke is that his obsession with fatherhood has turned him into a mom,” said Lister. “Actually, that’s who we’d really like to see get more involved around here,” he added. “But we get it – she has to work.”
