What Paul Ryans excuse tells us about fatherhood in the U.S.

What Paul Ryans excuse tells us about fatherhood in the U.S.What Paul Ryans excuse tells us about fatherhood in the U.S.House Speaker Paul Ryan has announced that he is retiring from Congress at the end of his term. Why?He wants to spend more time with his family - and wants to avoid becoming a weekend dad.Ryan said If I am here for one more term, my kids will only have ever known me as a weekend dad. I just cant let that happen. So I will be rahmen new priorities in my life.Ryan, 48 years old, has three teenage children with his wife, Janna. Presumably, hes using the term weekend dad to mean that he would only see his kids on weekends, though thats one of two potential definitions of weekend dad, according to Wiktionary. (The other refers to a divorced dad who only has custody of the kids on weekends, but Ryan is not divorced.)We cant say for sure whether thats really Ryans primary motive against seeking re-election in November 2018. As The New York Times pointed out as early as 20 06, spending more time with family can be a cover-up for another, more private reason. Its hard to argue that someone should devote less attention to parenting.But Ryan has spoken often about his dad duties in the past. fruchtwein notably, before Ryan became House Speaker, one of his conditions for taking the job welches getting weekends off to spend with his family, according to HuffPost.One of the reasons why I never wanted to be in elected leadership, Ryan told HuffPost, is because here, in Congress, elected leaders have always been expected to travel on weekends.And in 2016, Ryan told People magazine I miss things during the week, so the hardest question my kids ask is Are you going to be home? when I know that Im not. Thats the hardest one.One potential reason for Ryans dedication to fatherhood is that he lost his own father to alcoholism when he was just 15. Having not had a dad for a long time, it brings you much closer to your kids and your family, Ryan told The Associated P ress in 2014.Men in and out of politics are spending more time parenting than previous generations of fathersRyan is hardly the only man in politics to say hes leaving to spend more time with family. Arne Duncan, for example, the education secretary under President Barack Obama, stepped down in 2015 to spend more time with his family in Chicago.Politicians attitudes toward fatherhood may reflect a broader shift in the population. Pew Research Center statistics reveal that fathers and mothers are now equally likely to say parenting is extremely important to their identity. And in 2015, fathers spent triple the amount of time on childcare that they spent in 1965. (Its worth noting that mothers increased the time they spent parenting too, albeit not as drastically.)As for politicians, some say fatherhood is their primary role, second to their work in government. In an email to Washington Post reporter Ben Terris, President Bill Clinton said that a couple of years after we moved to the White House, when Chelsea was in high school, we had what may have been our only argument.Clinton went on The subject is long forgotten, but I remember telling her, As long as youre in this house, being president is my second most important job. This article first appeared on BusinessInsider.