EXCERPTS
“It is not so strange that I love you with all my whole heart, for being a father is not a tie which can be ignored.” So wrote Sir Thomas More in 1517 to his infant son. His words defied the stereotype of the stern disciplinarian and distant breadwinner dad that, to this day, haunts many a memoir of childhood – but times are changing.
In the UK, 10% of full-time carers of children are stay-at-home dads. In the 1950s, a man pushing a pram was a rarity, considered by many to challenge the masculinity of the father. As the first State of the World’s Fathers report published last week to mark Father’s Day reveals, the evolution of positive and involved fatherhood is accelerating apace.
In this country, 70% of mothers with partners are employed. Economic pressure means a two-wage household is now the norm. Women still take on the greater share of childcare and domestic chores. Men earn more; they work the longest hours in western Europe while being less productive. That needs to be addressed as does public policy if dads are to have a stronger role in childcare.
The SOWF report pulls together international research that shows the benefit to the wellbeing of children, fathers, mothers and the economy when dads are fully hands-on with their children. What makes a difference? In Germany, in 2007, for instance, the government added two well-paid “daddy” months for fathers to the 12 months’ leave mothers enjoy. Recently published data by the Federal Statistics Office show that the proportion of fathers taking leave has risen from 3.3% in 2006 to 29.3% for children born in 2012.
In England and Wales, shared parental leave lacks the “use it or lose it” lever on dads, while for men, £138 a week to stay at home with baby means too significant a drop in household income. An overhaul of policies and more positive endorsements of dads could mean a world of difference to our children.40% of mothers are employed.
-reprinted from The Guardian