The cards have been designed by London-based creator Stevie Rowing-Parker

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One card says: “Dad, you’re awesome” with the word crossed out and replaced with “Mum”, while another says: “You’re The Swiss Army knife of parenting.” The cards have been designed by London-based creator Stevie Rowing-Parker. The 29-year-old lost his father when he was just five, which left his mother to take on both parental roles for him and his brother Tim. Crazy “It was Father’s Day and it just seemed crazy that my mum should feel sad or that in some way she hadn’t given us everything we needed,” he said.

“The next year, I bought a standard Father’s Day card, scribbled out Dad and wrote Mum instead. “When I gave Mum that card she was so touched. It turned a negative day into a day to celebrate what an amazing job she’d done.” A Paperchase spokesman said: “At seasonal events such as Father’s Day, a single parent may feel excluded. “We want to celebrate single parents by offering a range of cards for customers who want to big up their mum.”

The company added that positive reaction means they might make similar options for Mother's day 2019

A male presence in a child’s life is as important as a female’s Swayne O'Pie

The company added that positive reaction means they will be “looking into stocking similar options for Mother’s Day 2019”. Other retailers have followed, with Clintons stocking a genderneutral card saying: “You’ve always been like a dad to me.” However author Swayne O’Pie, of pressure group the Society to Establish a Minister for Men, said Father’s Day should be kept just for dads and stepdads. He said: “A male presence in a child’s life is as important as a female’s.

“Biological fathers need to be officially recognised, as well as other types of fathers, because we do that with Mother’s Day.” Fathers4Justice founder Matt O’Connor labelled the cards “fatherphobic” and said the group plans to enter Paperchase stores and remove the cards – replacing them with their own range. Father’s Day falls on Sunday June 17. According to the single-parent charity Gingerbread, there are almost two million families led by one parent – about one in four of all families. Single parents are still most likely to be women, with the majority in their 30s.

Father's Day: A historical look at dads over the last 122 years Fri, June 16, 2017 To celebrate Father's Day, this charming gallery of images from the Francis Frith Collection take a historical look at dads over the last 122 years. Play slideshow Francis Frith Collection/Cover I 1 of 9 Celebrate Father's Day with these charming vintage photographs

SHOULD MOTHERS GET SOMETHING FOR DAD’S DAY TOO? YES says Stevie Rowing-Parker, creator of the cards. The idea for Happy Father’s Day Mum came a few years ago. Our house was always happy and Mum encouraged us to be ourselves and do what we love. The next year, I bought a standard Father’s Day card, scribbled out Dad and wrote Mum instead. When I gave Mum that card she was so touched. Her reaction inspired me to launch a range of cards for other people in my shoes to do the same for their mums. The reaction from mums and their children has been staggeringly positive. Just because I no longer have a dad doesn’t mean I don’t think dads are awesome. People who see the cards as negative towards dads are totally missing the point.

Matt O'Connor says the cards are deeply offensive and disrespectful to fathers