The key one for me in there is Be proud of your decision; when I first started out as a Stay-at-home-Dad, I was not really committing to the role. I was truth be told, more than a little embarrassed to use any of the role descriptions. Househusband, Stay-at-home Dad, Mr Mum all seemed derogatory terms. Although with the economy the way it is, there are more and more of us SAHDs out there now, we are still an easy target for ridicule. For me the hardest sell was for my parents - they just could not (and still can't) get their heads around the concept of me staying home while Amber went into the office each day.
And so I was a bit ashamed that this was my new role. As a result I did all I could to avoid admitting that I was a househusband. Instead I told myself I was a freelance contractor (I tried various homeworking jobs such as day-trader, gambler on betfair, and part-time financial advisor) who did a bit of housework and childcare on the side. Like the article says "There are people out there that when they see a man staying home with his kids, they automatically think, 'he's an unemployed loser,' "
In my case, the evidence soon piled up (literally in the case of the ironing) and Amber and I had to have quite an uncomfortable talk where a lot of home truths were said and alot of hurt feelings exposed. However in the light of day, there was only one positive course of action and that was to commit to the role fully and find ways to take pride in it.
