'When I'm with the kids and my wife is gone, it's easy as hell'

A dad's boast about parenting 'alone' has left mums "astounded"... but he's also "sort of right" for one reason.

Mum and creator Jenna has called out a dad for boasting about his parenting when he has the kids without his wife.

“I just saw a video where a dad said, ‘So how are we explaining to our wives that when we're with the kids and they're gone, it's easy as hell?’” Jenna began in a TikTok that's divided parents.

She continued, "He didn't stop there. He went further and picked up a shovel and started digging."

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"You're not the child's emotional well"

According to Jenna, the dad was right in a way that children are different with each parent.

But she took exception to him attributing the behavioural difference of the kids to mums being less "consistent" with them when it came to enforcing boundaries. 

“The real reason is, it’s because you're not that child's emotional well, the mother is,” she said.

“You're just not the person that that child has been literally and figuratively tethered to for their entire life.”

Image: @ifitwerentfunny/TikTok

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“And we can test this theory,” she continued. “When your wife comes home, do your kids immediately run over to her and shout, ‘Mummy, Mummy?’ Do the vibes change in your house when your wife gets back?

"That's because their person just walked into the room. And we're hardest on our people.”

Jenna concluded, “The question is really not, why is it so much easier than it is for my wife when I have my kids alone?” Jenna said. “It should be, what can I do as a dad to emotionally meet the needs of my kids in a way that takes some of that off of my wife's plate?

“Probably an exercising futility, but you can try."

@ifitwerentfunny

#parenthood #mom #momsoftiktok #parenting #marriage #kidsoftiktok

♬ original sound - Jenna

"It's like having a substitute in maths class"

The video attracted almost 3000 comments which mostly agreed with the mum.

“My kids are 15 and 17. My husband could be home ALL day with them and the minute I walk in after work, they’re downstairs with all the requests. Your DAD was home all day!" one viewer shared.

Another noted, “[The dad isn't] doing 90% of what the mum is doing when at home with the kids. It's like having a substitute in a math class that doesn't teach math. They just sit there and try to maintain life."

However, other commenters didn't exactly agree, with this one asserting, “Not all dads are emotionally deficient.”

Which of course is true, but as other viewers noted, they were talking about dads such as the one who did the boasting.

One said that the dad could have had a more nuanced explanation: “My husband would never say, ‘The kids are just better for me.’ He's also their safe place and you can tell, because they also drive him nuts."

Originally published as 'When I'm with the kids and my wife is gone, it's easy as hell'