Jeremy Davies writes:
Advertising is all around us – it is shaped by, and helps shape, our culture.
A lot of the time, advertisers portray dads as ham-fisted, lazy or goon-like, overseen by mums who are all-knowing – the magical glue that holds families together.
‘Making men into fathers’ is generally best achieved by providing substantial opportunities for caretaking right from the beginning
Father-infant bonding is stronger when dads develop their own ways of doing things.
Men are not ‘biologically’ less suited to caring for children than women:
• when similarly supported, both sexes develop childcare skills at the same rate (Myers, 1982)
• through what they learn they can have similarly positive effects on their children and on family functioning (Cia et al, 2010; Melnyk et al, 2006;.
Jeremy Davies writes:
Earlier this week, we tweeted about a dad who had been referred to as ‘Mr Mummy’ when he dropped his children off at school – as if fulfilling this mundane but vital task placed him into a world of parenting activity way beyond his gendered capabilities.
The Fatherhood Institute has been advocating for involved fatherhood in the UK since 1999, and in that time we have worked to change the narrative on fathers and fatherhood at all levels of UK society – from politicians and policymakers through to practitioners dealing with families in a variety of settings, the media and members of the public (including dads themselves).
Shadow public health minister Diane Abbott gave a controversial speech to think tank Demos, outlining that Britain is suffering from a ‘crisis of masculinity’, as a result of which young men have become unclear of their social role; do worse at school; suffer depression and anxiety; and adopt ‘hypermasculine’ behaviours.