Today's fathers are becoming more involved in parenting their kids. There are stay-home-dads and hands-on dads who tag-team with the mom when it comes to sharing in the household and child-rearing tasks.
It wasn't like this a few decades ago. A study from Pew Research showed that in the '70s and '80s, a father's involvement in the family was focused on providing for needs like food, clothing or education. It was the mother who did the traditional roles of looking after the children.
Somehow, these roles have evolved as dads' and moms' responsibilities started converging and more mothers also became providers for the family. Despite the dads' increased presence in the children's lives today, however, there is a noticeable lack of support and guidance geared for fathers from the community.
NPR noted part of the reason for this is perhaps because today's dads grew up in a household where the father spent more time at the office than with their children. Hence, today's dads do not have a clear cut model for child-rearing and they can't seek advice from their fathers due to the differences in concepts of parenting.
Fathers are also less inclined to open up in parenting groups online compared to moms who chatter and actively participate or connect with others in their busy mommy groups. Even if there are dads willing to learn more parenting skills, there are also not a lot of parenting classes that could interest dads.
Today's fathers might be more invested and involved in their kids, but it doesn't mean they are confident about their skills. Some dads still rely on their wife or partner for guidance with the children. In other words, fathers still have a long way to go and learn when it comes to being involved but they are slowly getting there.
How do you think dads are doing when it comes to parenting and child-rearing in today's setting? What areas must fathers strive to work on? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
