Stay-at-Home Dad Influencer Says Followers Questioned 'His Manhood' When He First Started Posting: 'Tough Times' (Exclusive)

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6 hours ago

Joey Foo documents his life as a stay-at-home dad for his nearly 3 million followers
He shares cleaning videos, insight into his day-to-day routine and how he helps his wife get ready for work
He says he will be "forever grateful" that his career has given him the chance to spend more time with his familyAfter the birth of their second child, Joey Foo and his wife sat down to discuss childcare options.
Ultimately, Foo decided he would stay home with their kids as his wife finished school while working full-time as a sonographer.
Foo, 36, talks exclusively with PEOPLE about how he went from a stay-at-home dad to a content creator with over 2.8 million followers.
"After a year of being a stay-at-home dad, I was on TikTok scrolling, and I noticed that there were a lot of stay-at-home moms, which I love, but I turned to my wife on the couch. I said, 'I don't see any stay-at-home dad content,'" he explains.
"This was at the end of 2022, and she said, 'You should post a series of what your day is like as a stay-at-home dad,'" he adds.
At first, he thought it would be "too much filming" and he "didn't know how to edit." But one day, he decided to film a regular day at home with the kids, including cleaning the house and helping his wife get ready for work.
He uploaded four videos in the middle of the night and, when he woke up, he had over 10,000 followers. One of the videos had garnered millions of views, and it pushed him to keep posting.
"I was going to keep posting about my life as a stay-at-home dad, the good, the rawness, the real. It was very polarizing at the beginning," Foo shares. "There were a lot of comments because it felt very new to the internet, and there were some tough times at the very beginning, but I kept pushing through and kept posting."
It's been nearly three years since Foo first posted on TikTok, and he has since seen a big shift in content.
"I have seen a lot more stay-at-home dads post their lives," he shares. "Hopefully, I have given them encouragement and motivation to start sharing their life and normalizing it."
"There was a time when people were questioning my character, my integrity, my manhood, and that was in every single video," he adds. "It has been dialed down, so I would like to think that there has been a positive shift since I've started creating content."
Along with connecting with other dad influencers, Foo has been able to see the impact his content has outside of social media.
The father of three reveals that working dads have reached out to tell him that his "content has helped them in ways that they never imagined, whether it's cleaning up the house a little bit or doing the things as a husband that they wouldn't normally do."
Foo's most significant piece of advice for other stay-at-home dads is to "not pile onto their wives when they get home," noting that "she needs time" to decompress.
"She had a long day at work, and whenever your spouse gets home from work, she's coming home to chaos as well," he says. "There were so many times that as soon as my wife got home from work, I was itching to see her, and I had to remember that she's had a long day at work, so give your spouse a few minutes [after] walking in the door."
He also notes that, "if you're thinking about doing it, and thinking 'maybe I should help her by cleaning or helping her get ready,' then you should do it."
"If I'm questioning that maybe this would make her day a little bit easier, then I want to do it," he says. "I'll have that thought, like, 'Oh, I should do this. This really could make a difference.' "
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While his attention can be pulled in many different directions between his kids, housework, and creating content, Foo shares that it's essential to find a balance. It's one of the reasons he makes a majority of his content when the kids are sleeping or with his wife.
"There are times when I start feeling like I've had the phone out too long, and the kids are pulling my shirt," he says. "I wonder if what I'm doing on my phone is as important as what my children might be asking for."
"If you're engulfed in creating content and your kids are requesting things, it's important to put the phone down because the content can always wait," Foo continues. "The internet, social media, that will always be there, and I can always pick up where I left off. That took a lot of practice, but it's an ever-long battle with balancing.
As for his kids, who can be seen running around or sometimes in the background of his videos, they "love my content."
Foo wants his videos to be enjoyed by all, avoiding cursing and ensuring his clips are appropriate for parents to watch in front of their kids.
"I get so many messages from parents that say, 'My 3-year-old loves your videos.' I've had dozens of messages saying that their kids' bedtime routine is watching my content, which I'm so grateful for," Foo says.
"Those are probably the most fulfilling, rewarding things, other than normalizing the life of a stay-at-home dad, the kids that love my videos and get a laugh for it, and that, like, brings me great joy."
While he knows that a lot of people stumble across his page due to "the chaos" of parenting, he knows they "stay for the love, the real life, and the wholesomeness."
"I'm a parent, a son, a friend, and I have feelings. I am sensitive at times. I have long nights with the kids, and I get overwhelmed and overstimulated; we're all in this space," he says. "I believe that content creation is a two-way street; I wouldn't be in this field without the support and backing I have. I wouldn't be where I am."
Read the original article on People