The Temple University Department of Psychology is conducting research examining the attitudes toward fathers as primary and secondary caregivers and is looking for participants in a survey.

Graduate student Katharine Wilson is heading what looks like a worthy effort and tells me she is interested in the area because she grew up in a stay-at-home dad household and although she was oblivious to them at the time and now realizes her father faced a number of challenges. “I hope to use my research to educate people in an effort to eliminate the stigmas attached to fathers acting as primary caregivers,” she says.

Anyone over the age of 18 can take the survey, which should take about 30-45 minutes. It obviously would be a good thing to have a solid representation of stay-at-home dads. So when you have a second, give the survey a shot.

We live in a part of the world where baseball’s spring training takes place. So today I decided to gather up the boys and head to the ballpark. Nothing better than letting them run around the lawn seating while soaking up a beautiful day in February. I know, sounds weird and I’m not trying to make anyone who is freezing jealous, but it was nice.

The point is, though, it was a perfect chance to be active with the kids in a different way. As a stay-at-home dad the opportunity exists to infuse an afternoon out with your own interests to mix things up a little and add to the fun. There is nothing that says following standard fare like a library outing – not that there is anything wrong with that – is the only way to go.

A matinee baseball game is one such opportunity for a change up. The kids will have fun with you, and who knows, you may even make them fans of your interests as well.

It’s hard not to pay attention when you see stay-at-home dads mentioned in an Internet posting titled “6 Dream Jobs That Would Actually Suck,” such as this one from Cracked.com. Yep, there it is at No. 3: Stay-at-Home Dads. At first I thought it might be some sarcastic rendition of how at-home dads struggle with their inner being or something down those lines. I was ready to be a little ticked. But instead it mentioned a few very real struggles that stay-at-home dads face – struggles that can be killer if not addressed early and often.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had men tell me they would love to stay home, and recent surveys show that many working dads would consider this their dream job. I’ve always wondered if they’ve really thought about what it takes. There are no days off, kids show no mercy and traditional gender roles are a bear to break down. Just as this post says.

Now, do I think most of our wives are going to eventually flip on us because we aren’t masculine enough? Not in the slightest. Unfortunately, though, you know it has happened. More reason to keep working at every detail involved with the SAHD role. Being a stay-at-home dad can be a dream job realized, but it takes more than lip service to get there.

We went to our fifth birthday party in eight weeks over the weekend. All but one of them was for 4-year-olds. We’re kind of tired. Anyway, I found it interesting to observe the kinds of parties that are thrown for kids, and having so many celebrations in a short time made it easy to observe.

Some parties had huge jump houses, cotton candy machines, elaborate arts and crafts and creative games. Some were nothing more than a backyard gathering where the kids ran around with each other and the adults got some needed adult time. Want to know which ones the kids had more fun at? Honestly, I couldn’t tell. There seemed to be an equal amount of excitement all around.

So think of that before you get competitive and try and go bigger and better. Just find a fun day that fits your family’s style. Do kids really care how big of a bash they have? Maybe as they get older, but at least for preschoolers any time they get to be with their buds seems to be good enough.

Got your own birthday thoughts? Feel free to share it here and with the All About Parenting Blog Carnival.