Why involving dads is good for relationships

Press/Media: Blogs and social media

Description

Why paternal involvement in childcare is good for family relationships

Period22 Jan 2019

Media contributions

1

Media contributions

  • TitleWhy involving dads is good for relationships
    Degree of recognitionNational
    Media name/outletWorkingdads.co.uk
    Media typeWeb
    Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
    Date22/01/19
    DescriptionAre relationships less likely to break down if fathers do more childcare? The answer is yes. Fathers who spend time caring for their babies – on their own – during the first year of parenthood are more likely to be in stable relationships. This was the main finding from our research, which uses the Millennium Cohort Study to examine over 13,000 households in the UK.

    Previous studies show that many factors can lead to a relationship breaking down – such as feeling depressed, having a baby or struggling with money. We wanted to explore whether a father’s (lack of) involvement in childcare and domestic work had any effect. Our results show that it does: parental relationships are less likely to break down up to seven years post-birth if the father looks after the baby on his own at least a few times a week during the first year of parenthood. This is the case even when we take account of other factors which may influence relationship breakdown such as household income, attitudes towards divorce and whether or not either parent is in employment
    URLhttps://www.workingdads.co.uk/why-involving-dads-good-relationships/
    PersonsHelen Norman

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Work and Equalities Institute