A young friend of mine put something on her Facebook timeline that I just have to share here.

Molly said this:

“It drives me crazy when I see and hear comments like ‘daddy’s babysitting today’! No daddy isn’t ‘babysitting’ he’s being a dad, and taking care of his kid. When a mother has her child she isn’t ‘babysitting,’ she’s being a mother. Let’s not belittle great dads by saying that they are only ‘babysitting.'”

Can I hear an “amen”?

My friend is a new mother. She and her husband welcomed a gorgeous little girl into the world just a few weeks ago.

Her comments were so amazingly spot on, I had to restrain myself from cheering at my computer screen when I saw them.

Since I really cannot improve on her comment, I’ll add only this: The 15-year-old boy or girl who lives next door “babysits” your child. Dads step up and be parents, just like Moms. It’s a co-equal responsibility.

And believe it or not, I heard a new father — a friend and colleague of mine many years ago — actually brag about how he “babysat” his toddler son.

I cringed when I heard it then. I cringe even more demonstrably when I hear it now.