Stay-at-home dads crush gender roles in funny parenting podcast (with a beer)
On any given afternoon, Kent Peterson may be chasing his 1-year-old twins around the house, singing songs with his 4-year-old, entertaining his 5-year-old niece and preparing dinner. All at the same time.
It's not a novel concept, but the family situation that surrounds it is.
Along one manicured street in Franklin, Tenn. live three branches of the same family. There are 10 young cousins and six in-laws.
Two of those parents are stay-at-home dads in charge of managing all the kid chaos.
"We are basically a walking reality show," Peterson says. But, until recently, he adds, "We had no way to share that with the world."
Enter the "Bring Dad a Beer" podcast.
A colorful production by Peterson and his brother-in-law Jeff Capeling, it chronicles crazy family stories, dissects pop culture trends and rates the beers the guys drink while recording.
Plus, it adds a little levity to the everyday insanity of being stay-at-home dads.
Fatherhood: a switch from old-school family norms
Fatherhood in America is changing, with dads taking a more active role as women climb higher in the workforce taking on more demanding, higher-income careers.
It can make practical and economic sense for dad to pull full-time kid duty.
More than 11 million U.S. parents — or 18 percent — did not work outside the home in 2016, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.
The share of dads at home rose from 4 percent to 7 percent from 1989 to 2016.
Capeling — a father of a 12-year-old, an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old kindergartner — knows he's in the minority every time he goes to the grocery store and the older ladies marvel at him and the kids.
"Oh, you’re helping Dad today," they say. "Dad’s day out."
"And, I'm like, every day is dad’s day out," Capeling says. "They just can’t comprehend that we don’t have traditional jobs, that our wives work."
Such comments have been turned into a special podcast segment the two dads call "Bless Your Heart."
Capeling is a veteran at the stay-at-home dad gig, which he's been doing for nine years. Before that, he worked on the line for Ford building F-150s in Michigan.
It took awhile to adjust, he says. The early years when he had a newborn and a 4-year-old were the hardest. Now, with his three kids growing up, he takes pride in his role at home. And he wants others to, too.
When he sees a commercial on TV in which the dad is the one doing the laundry, he celebrates. "Yes! I am buying nothing but Tide from now on."
A podcast studio with princess castles and baby strollers
Peterson is just beginning to navigate the nuances of the stay-at-home-dad world. The former teacher and high school coach has been at it about a year.
It wasn't long before he figured out that what he and Capeling were experiencing was pretty unique, not to mention funny. So a few months ago the pair purchased some electronic equipment and started recording their stories.
They take the venture pretty seriously, holding business meetings with their corporate-executive wives during which Peterson presents growth plans via PowerPoint. But, they are not too buttoned up.
Usually, the two men record their weekly podcast in Peterson's upstairs playroom — a magical wonderland filled with princess castles, a baby piano, a kitchen play set and, perhaps most important, a big-screen TV.
There, the dads set up a portable table, turn on a game (with the sound off), plop down on the brown leather couch and open a brew.
Their segments include everything from a beer rating, to sports talk to recipe sharing from Chef Jeff's kitchen. (Not to mention precious stories about ladies who don't understand them.)
They aren't diving into parenting issues or doling out advice. But they do tell you what they're dealing with at home — reinforcing the notion that they're not "dumb dads."
"You can get something out of our story that you can relate to," Capeling says.
The stay-at-home dad podcast arena isn't empty, but it's also not brimming with bros.
Two dads out in California put out "The At Home Dad Show." A few are produced for dads by dads, but not of the stay-at-home variety. Many others have come into the space and left.
The "Bring Dad a Beer" dudes hope that any parent (not just domestic dads) will find value in the show. In fact, right now analytics show most of their listeners are women — and not just their wives.
In three months, they reached 1,000 listens, which Peterson is very proud of.
"We’re not famous," he says. "We’re trying to do this from the ground up."
They do have an occasional celebrity guest, though. One of their most recent episodes featured special guest host (brother-in-law and neighbor) Trevor Rosen of Old Dominion.
Family creates unique perspective for 'Bring Dad a Beer' podcast
Having a brother-in-law right next door is part of what makes this particular family unique.
Families are typically far flung across the country or even the globe. It certainly isn't common for three siblings — and their little ones — to all live on the same street.
The cousins roam freely between houses. One has the best play set, another the basketball hoop. The Petersons have the pool, which when all 10 kids — who range in age from 1 to 13 — are splashing about, it can feel like a water park.
And, when the kids go to bed, the day doesn't have to be over. Peterson may pop next door to watch a game with one brother-in-law or head across the street and play beer pong with the other.
"I feel like there is no one in the world that has a family situation like we have," Peterson says.
And he wants to tell the world all about it, with a microphone and a beer in hand.
Reach Jessica Bliss at jbliss@tennessean.com or 615-259-8253 and on Twitter @jlbliss.
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