Don Hudson, a father of four believes by experience that dad’s are not just babysitters but responsible parents and to prove his point, Don has opened a father-focussed baby store.
“It’s an insult,” he told The Huffington Post. “We’re not babysitting. We’re parenting. They’re our kids.”
Don’s store called Seahorses, is a father-targetted store and also a community space in Portland, Oregon in June 2015.
A dad to kids who are 1, 3, 5 and 25, Don told Huffington that through his store he wanted to communicate a dad’s voice that “accurately reflects their parenting.”
Seahorse’s merchandise according to Don includes practical and innovative products that make life easier for father – baby carriers, strollers, diaper bags and toys.
Screenshot of the youtube video
The store also organizes events like dad workshops, preschool kid cooking lessons, baby sign language classes and parenting playdates. And the back part of the store is where the community meets.
“The back half of the place, that’s where I’ve got my enclosed kids’ area with the countertops where dads ― or moms ― can sit around and use the Wi-Fi and have a cup of coffee, let the kids play for a minute, take a break from parenting for five minutes and breathe,” said Don.
According to Cari Wolverton, the store’s manager, the community was first hesitant about their endeavour. “It was a new idea when we opened our doors,” she said. “We didn’t know who was going to come in or who was interested in the concept.”
No surprise that later the same store was declared one of the best places in Portland to shop for kids.
“We’ve successfully conveyed the message that dads are competent parents. We’re not a bunch of bumbling idiots like the media portrays,” Don said. “If you leave the kid alone with dad, he’s not going to be home stuck to the wall. Not everyone puts sharpie marker on their kids’ eyebrows just to get a good picture out of it. We’re in the trenches, too.”
