Modern fathers are more involved in parenting than ever before and are now responsible for a third of all the childcare in the home. Fathers in Britain spend an average of 129 minutes a day with children aged under three, and 75 minutes entertaining them, finds a survey.
Mothers are still spending much more time with children than their partners, on average four hours and 25 minutes a day. But the research shows childcare is becoming more of a joint responsibility. In the 1960s, men's share of parenting was around 19%, but that has now increased to 32%, finds the survey commissioned by Baby Einstein, a company that promotes 'discovery through play' in the under threes.
Analysis of the findings showed that while women sacrificed work, sleep and social life when they had children, men also gave up time spent watching television and going out with friends. Almost three quarters of men under 35 felt they were just as capable of bringing up children as women, while less than half of men over 65 agreed about that statement.
For the survey, men were asked where they found information and advice on how to be a good father. Only 17.7% said they had spoken to their own father or father-in-law, fewer than the number who felt they had learned about parenthood from television programmes (19.5%) and books (42.7%). The most common source of parenting advice was still from mothers (61%).
(Extracted from article by Sophie Kirkham and Diana Blamires, The Guardian, 17.08.05)