Something that has been in the back of my mind for a while needs to be said. It's something that I think all men have run into, something that hurts a bit inside. That is being seen as a potential predator just because I am a man.



The reason it brought me to write about it today is because of an article in the Wall Street Journal from 2007.





As a father, this pains me because I often go out alone with my son and have, at times, been given suspicious looks when I gave my son a bug hug and kiss, or held his hand. Looking back, when I was a very new father I also eyed all babies with the mystical glee of a new parent and got disapproving looks then.

There was even a time, knowing the suspicious nature men are viewed, that I came across a small girl, about Ben's age, crying in a Home Depot. Despite my strong paternal instinct to take her by the hand and find a store manager, I simply walked away. Fearful of the way I would be looked upon if the parents of that little girl found me.

Even though I am a married, and a father myself, being a man makes me automatically guilty of something. It's unfortunate. If even feel uncomfortable taking Ben to a place like Climb-A-Lot playhouse with my wife. For a lone man, even with a child at a place heavily populated by children is a thing to be eyed suspiciously by many. It's hurts, and puts me in the position to not help when I would be able to, like in the case of the young girl, and makes me watch what I do with my own son.

What is the reason? And what are us men and fathers to do?