The implication of that

Depends where on the political spectrum they are.

The number of fathers that gave me shit for taking care of my kids is ridiculous. We had our kids 15 months apart and I would routinely have both of them in a public restroom for changing. The pure vitriol directed at me for doing the womens job was immense beyond measure.
On the flip side, when I would take them to the park to play, I would be acosted by nearly every mother there. There were no fathers, just mothers that would have to comment that it was great to see a father participate. I also got a lot of phone numbers that I got very embarrased about and my wife found hilarious.

TLDR:. Most american fathers do not put in much effort unless its sports related.

America is just like every other highly patriarchal society: No

Some men are wonderful dads and incredibly involved but culturally speaking American men still very much buy into the concept of “woman’s work” and included in that is women raising his kids for him

am a dad, been told I'm 'babysitting' my kids a few times.

Not in my experience. Men behave as if their contribution is either working a job to earn money for the family and/or drinking/physical violence.

I can only speak from personal experience. my father

• never changed my diaper
• beat or screamed at me more than we ever "played ball" or "had fun"
• worked me like a dog
• only gave me approval two weeks before he died
• said he "loved me" five times in my entire life before he died
• never once cared for me while I was sick

as a father myself I

• change diapers when I need to
• never beat my kids
• screamed at them only when they were caught doing something incredibly stupid and dangerous
• let them play and pay them for their work
• play games or watch them play outside
• try to support them as best I can with positivity
• tell them I love them every single day and night
• have stayed up for days caring for them while they were sick

I'm not looking for a medal, or a thank you. All I'm looking for is a bit of appreciation when they grow up and look back when they become parents.

I want to break the cycle of shitty father figures, that's all.

In addition to broadly prevalent 'traditional' norms promoted and espoused by men in many, many parts of the US, that assert that caring for a child is innately feminine...

Tons of American women also actively promote patriarchy, they'd call these guys gay and not real men, for taking care of their kids, for being stay at home dads.

Grew up in America. Father never raised me. It was 100% my mom. My only memories of my dad are him working in his office, him losing his shit if you talked to him during the day (even to say "it's lunch time, dad"). Him leading the conversation at dinner, him yelling and screaming at my mom and I, and him punishing me if my grades were more than. 5% away from perfect.

Generally it’s considered suspicious for an adult man to be alone with a child so it’s safer and more convenient for men not to be involved with their children’s lives in any solo capacity. It stems from this idea of everyone-is-pedophile-except-for-pedophiles.

yes of course they do.

It's getting better, but you have two factors. One a large portion of men with kids were raised by their mothers, so they don't know another way. That is shifting though. The other is that American women tend to be more competitive or something. Part of the capitalist society type competitive. People still see the kids as Moms job, so if the kids aren't dressed right or whatever, it's Mom's fault. Pair that with the extra competitiveness and plenty of ladies don't trust their man tomanage things. And because the Man isn't going to be judged, he doesn't have as high a bar for perfection, which just amplifys things.
Like I get my son dressed in the morning. And my wife will often reject my choices. Now I have no fashion sense at all, so she isn't wrong or anything. If people wouldn't judge her on my choices, she could relax. Another thing is I handle all the medical and school stuff. But they all still call Mom first. I've had to remove her number in some cases. So even a guy who is trying gets undercut. It's all very messed up.

Paternity leave?

There is absolutely a stereotype of dads not being involved in the child raising process outside of "teaching the kid to play ball" or teaching the kid repair skills around the house/car.

I know at least one friend who's husband refuses to change any diapers and generally leaves the entire child raising process to his wife. But it's also rapidly becoming far more normal for dads to actually be involved in their kids lives and take their kids places and taking an active part in raising their kids

When American men look after their children people call the police and accuse them of being pedophiles for daring to be in public with a child.

I think it is also specifically racist, implying that the black character didn't know her father.

So what do American fathers do on mandatory parental leave, just sit at home?

Oh, wait, there is no mandatory parental leave for fathers in the US, is there?

really puzzled by "all the gay nannies"

Damn, that’s some eastern europe type phrasing

SATW always portrays Finland with a knife, so it’s more of an inside joke and not related to this specific comic strip.

reminds me of how in australia you're not allowed to have a big knife unless you have a good reason. i feel like "it's the national identity" should be a good enough reason

Maybe that baby is from Lahti?

What type of knife do you suggest for a small baby? I'm assuming the joke there is that babies have difficulty handling chef's knives and that something like a pairing knife would be more appropriate. Or maybe a throwing knife because the loop makes them easier to hold and they are probably going to end up throwing it at some point, so better to use a knife designed for it?

You're not being very apparent if they have to ask.

Every character is a stereotype of a country.

And those are just the female stereotypes of those countries.

Sweden is the home of the women brought home by the vikings. Big breasted beautiful blondes.

The US is the home of the women who go tanning and get plastic surgery.

Oh honey, I'm so sorry

For reference, here are the other countries:

England:

France:

Japan:

Brazil:

Yep I'm uncomfortable with it. They could have stereotyped in a way that didn't need overt sexualisation

Booba good; Booby make man happy 🙂

Not a single dad, but my wife was gone for a year when our daughter was two. I used to watch moms struggling with kids in the grocery store and no one batted an eye (GA, USA). I'd do grocery shopping with mine in the cart and keep her amused while shopping and checking out and on more than one occasion for compliments about what a great dad I was.

I love my girls and spend as much time with them as I can and do things with them all the time. Still, my wife gets nothing and I occasionally still get pats on the back and compliments on doing basic dad stuff from both men and women.

Always struck me as such a weird thing. Sometimes moms really need more recognition too, I think.

Pennsylvania, USA

It's a Finnish baby, knives are mandatory.

Jokes aside, I'm a Swedish speaking Finn who happened to move to Sweden for the last year of school and my teacher made a point of reminding me it's not okay to wear a knife to school.

She made quite the face when my mother told her we stopped that particular tradition about a century ago.

But still, it's something of a national joke, lol.

There's a joke here in Sweden that goes like: (With finish accent) "Boys! Stop fighting with knives! We gave you chainsaws for Christmas!"

Self defense obviously

Them kids gotta learn how to whittle ASAP so that there’s at least something for them to do at the summer cabin (no wifi, no cell phone connection)

I was also wondering about the knives. They are too small to prepare food and that is the wrong kind of knife for stabbing

The kids make their own knives in school, but not as babies. They ski as babies.

The implication is that this American (woman) tourist is surprised that men take on domestic duties like taking care of children...

because it doesn't happen in the US. (at least, not on the scale and cultural normalcy represented)

Does this mean I need to be drunk?

There's an old stereotype in Sweden about Finns carrying knives... I guess

That’s how Fins ensure appropriate social distancing. The only place Fins come together closer than an arms length is in the sauna.

It’s a survival of the fittest / Finnest kind of thing

That kid is going to stand their ground.

Hän yrittää kasvattaa lapsia oikealla suomalaisella tavalla

Scandinavian weaklings suck at blacksmithing and can’t even handle a kinfe whereas us suicidal mighty wifebeating subhuman Finnjävels are all about knives (and alcholism and depression)

source: Scandinavian bättre folk

Read the comments.

You misspelled "classic Scandinavian rivalry".