Society is failing dads, says Equal Opportunities Commission research study
A 2007 analysis of the UK’s Millennium Cohort Surveys – ongoing information-gathering about families with an infant born in the year 2000 – commissioned by the Equal Opportunities Commission presents important new evidence about the links between a father’s role and the well-being of children.
The findings illustrate the multi-faceted nature of contemporary fatherhood, going well beyond the traditional provider role. Like mothers, many fathers feel they do not spend enough time with their children and this causes considerable frustration and tension. Earlier research has already highlighted the aspirations of modern fathers to have a closer and warmer relationship with their children than they had with their own fathers (Hatter et al., 2002).
Fifteen per cent of babies in the MCS were born to parents who were not co-resident. So the analysis also gives an important insight into how involved these fathers were in their children’s early lives, and how relationships change over time.
To read the EOC’s summary of the research findings, Fathers and the Modern Family under RELATED DOCUMENTS (below), choose ‘Save Target As…’ and the pdf should download quickly. To read the full research study, click on Parental Care and Employment in Early Childhood under RELATED DOCUMENTS (below), choose ‘Save Target As…’ and the pdf should download quickly.
EOC Fathers and the Modern Family
EOC Parental Care and Employment in Early Childhood
