parenthesis – pa·ren·the·sis /pəˈrenTHəsəs/ noun
plural noun: parentheses; a word, clause, or sentence inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage that is grammatically complete without it, in writing usually marked off by curved brackets, dashes, or commas.

The key word in this definition – at least in terms of dads – is afterthought. And when you consider a few headlines and slogans over the years and what that does to a person – it can be demoralizing.

Marketers often have misplaced agendas when using parentheses, or perhaps misguided thoughts via long-held stereotypes and media. The media should know better. Its job is to deliver unbiased news guided by fact-checking and self-regulatory mechanisms, and semantically speaking, makes no sense to leave dads out of messages related to families and parenting.

Words do indeed matter, which makes it hard to explain why this Syracuse, N.Y. television station used parentheses in the first place. Same for Jesben, which has been employing them for over a decade.

Dads are equal, competent parents – not afterthoughts, digressions or asides.

When something is parenthetical in nature, it means that it can be removed without damaging the structure of the sentence.

While that may be true, it is damaging to the very structure of families when you reduce dads to an afterthought.