When new dad Mitch Barber was out with his son Elio one day, he was asked a question that bothered him.
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"People asked me 'are you babysitting?' and 'when is the mother coming back?'" Mr Barber said.
"We're an equal part of this."
The Berrima resident discovered this misconception was one of the challenges that came with fatherhood.
Mr Barber made the decision to be a stay-at-home-dad because he didn't want to miss out on seeing son Elio grow up.
He has struggled with the isolation of being at home but said he believed the experience has made him a better person.
The role was "whirlwind of learning", offered him precious time with his son and made him see life from his partner Katie Tong's perspective.
"I didn't realise how hard it was going to be until I did it. I have a new appreciation for stay-at-home parents," he said.
"When I was at work, I wished I was at home and I thought Katie got the easy straw. As I took over that role I realised how it hard it is."
He said fathers faced other challenges, such as less parental leave compared to mothers and inaccurate stereotypes portrayed in popular culture.
"There's a stereotype of dads that we don't know what we're doing," he said.
"You always see in TV shows the bumbling dad who doesn't know how to change a nappy.
"We know what we're doing, we might not know on day one but we do get there."
Mitch's message for the community is the mother and father have an equal role as parents.
"If you see a dad out there in the community, just realise he's just doing what he needs to do as a parent," he said.
"You don't have to say 'where is the mum?'"
Mitch and Katie will share their experiences with Australia on the upcoming ABC TV show New Dads.
A crew recently filmed the family at their home in Berrima, at swimming lessons at the Moss Vale War Memorial Aquatic Centre and on a grocery shopping trip to Harris Farm Markets in Bowral.
Presenter Jane Caro will meet five new dads, hear about their hopes and fears about pregnancy and labour, see how they juggle work and home life, and explore the kind of fathers they want to be.
Mitch has also shared his thoughts on new fatherhood on his website and podcast www.being-men.com.
New Dads premiers on ABC TV and ABC iView on Tuesday, August 27 at 7.30pm.
