What are the fears of changing diapers?

Changing diapers can provoke anxiety in parents for several reasons:

1. Fear of Incompetence: Some parents, especially new ones or those not accustomed to childcare tasks, may fear that they lack the skill to properly change a diaper. This can stem from worries about causing discomfort or harm to the baby during the changing process.

2. Fear of Spoiling the Child: There's a concern among some parents, like Adam Schafer, that being too quick to respond to a child's needs, such as changing their diaper immediately when needed, might lead to spoiling the child. They worry about not allowing the child to face small adversities, which can contribute to anxiety about how they engage in parenting tasks like diaper changing 1.

3. Evolution of Fatherhood Roles: Traditionally, many fathers weren't as involved in direct childcare tasks like diaper changing. As societal expectations shift towards more involvement from fathers, some may feel unprepared or anxious about performing these tasks correctly, especially if they didn't observe their own fathers performing them 2.

These fears often underscore deeper issues such as anxiety about parental adequacy and adapting to new societal expectations in family roles.