Why do people flirt with dads of young kids, but not moms?

The very first time I went out alone after my first daughter was born was quite eye-opening. She must have been about four months old, and as I was walking to my hair dresser's, lots of men flirted with me. People looked at me. That was something that didn't happen since I started being visibly pregnant, and until that experience I actually forgot that men like to flirt with women sometimes.

Apparently, men simply don't like mothers. A big pregnant belly might be beautiful, but unless you're a fetishist it apparently screams: Taken, don't bother! And moms with small kids are just out of bound. No guys, I wasn't one of those new moms who had baby spit in her hair, or looked six months pregnant after giving birth. It wasn't that I looked bad - it was the baby that deterred potential flirters. Why?

In this day and age, there is no reason to automatically assume that a mom is married or partnered. But before you jump in to answer that kids are just unsexy and nobody wants anything to do with another person's offspring, don't think for a minute that the same thing is true for dads out with their sprouts. Indeed, I have to admit that I was a little jealous when my husband told me complete with a smug smirk on his face that women actually flirted with him more when he was out and about with our daughter in a baby carrier.

Women attack him, he says, and on his first solo trip with the baby, several volunteered their phone number, sometimes under the guise of helping out with the baby, or babysitting . He teased that he should take the baby on far more trips from then on. It ain't fair! Note to all young dads if you want lots of female attention, take your baby with you. Preferably, wear him in a sling and have a hot one-day beard. And when you're not out with your baby, remember that moms love hearing they look hot too, occasionally.