Joe Canterbury holds his youngest daughter, Makayla.

Joe Canterbury is a former Navy engineer who was once woken up at 2 am to help get Navy Seals on the beach in the Persian Gulf War. Now he is a stay–at–home father of a four–year–old and 10–month–old. He coordinates play dates, carpools to dance lessons, changes diapers, and plays hide–and-go–seek.

For Canterbury and his wife Sarah, the choice for daddy to stay home to raise their two young daughters was easy. They knew they wanted to have one parent home, and after carefully examining their situation, it made sense for him to be that parent. Sarah’s career as a Ph.D. trained at Dartmouth and Stanford had more longevity than that of a former Navy man turned EMT, so Joe hung up his uniforms and began the hardest and most rewarding job of his life. The family moved from the west coast to Columbia in November 2004 for the Midlands’ quality of life and reasonable cost of living.

Joe Canterbury with daughters, Mackenzie and Makayla Prior to bringing home their first daughter, Joe’s only training with kids was as an EMT with the flight program at Dartmouth where he assisted with neonatal and pediatric critical care transport. He grins and says, “I had absolutely no clue what I was getting into. To be alone and solely responsible for a child was completely foreign to me.”

But as time passed, Joe learned as most parents do, through the “trial by fire” method. Each day brings new challenges and adventures, but Joe and Sarah take great pride knowing they don’t miss the little milestones that are daily events in the lives of their young girls.

Joe’s role as a stay–at–home dad is still new for many, and he experiences daddy discrimination on an almost daily basis. It is hard for many people to accept his non–traditional role, and he is often greeted with the phrase, “Daddy’s got the girls today?”

He says most people who see him walking down the street with both girls assume one of three things: Mommy is taking a break, he is a single parent, or he has the kids as the result of separation. No one initially takes him as the primary caregiver, and once they find out, many people are friendly, but out of their comfort zone. One man even asked him if he was taking care of his kids because he was on disability.

The hardest part for Joe is not the daddy discrimination, but that he is not contributing financially. Canterbury has a strong work ethic instilled at an early age. Prior to coming home with his kids, he had worked for wages since he was 15 years old. Like many stay–at–home moms, he faces the harsh reality there is no monetary compensation for those who have chosen to do the hardest job on earth. He says he may return to the work force on a part time basis at some point in time, as long as the job does not interfere with his first priority, his girls.

Canterbury smiles and says, “The best part of being with the girls is that they just make me laugh. I would call my job the best in the world…if I could just get a 30 minute break for lunch.”