Michael Bublé knows the struggle is real when it comes to work-life balance, especially since he's a father to two boys: two-year-old Noah and seven-month-old Elias. But when the Canadian crooner discussed the topic in a recent interview with People, one of his statements struck a nerve with parents.
When speaking about how he and his wife Luisana Lopilato help support each other, the 40-year-old declared that he “babysits” his kids while the Argentine actress is away filming.
“I'll fly back, and for the three weeks that she's making a movie, I'm the babysitter, I'm Mr. Mom or whatever you call it,” he said. “So it allows us both to be fulfilled within our professional lives, but at the same time, we feel like we haven't lost control of the balance.”
“At the end of the day, what defines us is the fact that we are parents,” the dad-of-two continued, “that we’re brothers and sisters and mom and dads and sons and daughters—not what we do.”
While we're guessing Bublé wasn’t trying to stir controversy, his statement did not sit well with some of his fans. A few quickly took to Twitter to set Bublé straight.
Calling dads “babysitters” has been a touchy topic among parents because it perpetuates the gender stereotype that moms do the parenting, while dads just help out.
Back in April, a T-shirt reading “Dads don’t babysit. (It’s called ‘parenting’)” made the rounds on Reddit and started a healthy discussion around the sexist stereotype.
One Redditor perfectly summed up the negativity of the “babysitting” statement, saying: “It's a mentality (whether intentional or not) that diminishes the role fathers play in the lives of their kids. They're not seen as an equal in parenting, they're the ‘babysitter’ who only steps in occasionally when mom needs a break or something.”
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