weekend dad

weekend dad (plural weekend dads)

1. (informal, sometimes derogatory) A noncustodial father who has custody of or visitation with his child/children primarily or exclusively on weekends.
   • 1993, Levon Helm (with Stephen Davis), This Wheel's on Fire: Levon Helm and the Story of The Band, A Capella Books (2013), →ISBN, page 245:

     She and the kids moved to Brentwood, and I continued to see the kids as much as being a weekend dad allowed.

   • 1999, Tara Taylor Quinn, My Babies and Me, Harlequin (1999), →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     “I guess what she's saying, man, is that a good weekend dad is a hell of a lot better than no dad at all.”

   • 2011, Kimberlee Murray, "The Constant", in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad: 101 Stories of Gratitude, Love, and Good Times (eds. Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, & Wendy Walker), →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     My dad promised that he would be more than just a “weekend dad” who fulfilled his obligatory parental duties with limited visits.

   • For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:weekend dad.
2. (informal, sometimes derogatory) A custodial father whose time with his child/children is limited mainly to weekends.
   • 2004, Gerald P. Mallon, Gay Men Choosing Parenthood, Columbia University Press (2004), →ISBN, pages 128-129:

     If a dad is commuting to the city to New York and goes to New York on the seven o'clock train and comes home on the seven o'clock at night train, then he is a weekend dad; [he] is not really involved as the primary parent.

   • 2011, Edrid E. Tirado, The Dad Guide: A Collection of 1,001 Different Ways to Be a Better Dad, iUniverse (2011), →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     If you're a single dad, don't let anyone call you a weekend dad. Interact with your children daily and check up on their schoolwork daily.

   • 2015, David Caren, The Irish Dad's Survival Guide to Pregnancy [& Beyond], The O'Brien Press Ltd (2015), →ISBN, unnumbered page:

     The only real downside was that I had a daily commute to Dublin. I had to leave early and did not return until late in the evening. This all meant that I ended up being a weekend dad!