Are millennial dads doing better in parenting than moms? Well, YouTube, a popular video-sharing website, shared that more millennial dads are watching parenting-related videos on its site compared to millennial moms.
Based on a study conducted in collaboration with research outfits Flamingo and Ipsos Connect, forty percent of millennial parents today were inclined to have more open relationships with their kids compared to parents in the previous generations. According to CNBC, the findings were presented during a panel at the South by Southwest Festival multimedia conference in Austin, Texas on Monday.
Furthermore, Google discovered a difference among millennial parents, especially when it comes to caregiving roles wherein more dads are stepping up their efforts. McDonald's brand marketing digital strategy director Akash Pathek pointed out millennials today are "choosing care of families" than "pursuing a career." The data also showed millennial parents are more open to share the responsibility of raising a family due to fewer and lower paying jobs.
"If you look at their generation - the baby boomer generation - you had really classical roles," Pathek said on the panel. "This is not stereotyping. Millennials are in less classical roles. Frankly, in my Facebook groups there's a lot of dads who stay at home."
Aside from the fact that millennial dads seek more parenting advice on YouTube, parents also seek guidance from other multiple sources. In fact, DigitasLBi senior vice president and creative strategy lead David Chriswick admitted it was quite surprising to discover that several millennial parents are going online to search for solutions regarding screen time or smartphone-related issues with kids.
"So many people are turning to Google and YouTube for advice on when they should introduce a smartphone to their kids or unlock their phones," Chriswick said. "That was really important because it unlocked a new audience for us."
Those enthusiastic fathers, however, may have found a reason why they seek parental guidance online. As per MarketWatch, women are still taking on more at work hence they often struggle to find a balance between work and family life.
Meanwhile, moms seem to agree that dad are doing parenting better nowadays. In an article published by The Stir, writer Wendy Robinson listed 13 ways that fathers do parenting better, particularly their abilities to deal with sick and hurt kids. Robinson also wrote that he feels bad for dad because they also "rocking it in the parenting" aspect.
"Sometimes I feel bad for dads," Robinson wrote. "All too often they are portrayed as bumbling fools or overgrown kids when it comes to doing the actual work of parenting. We sometimes assume that moms know best and are the ones who really know what they are doing, but in doing so we ignore the fact that in a lot of families, parenting is a two-person job."
What are your thoughts about fathers who handles parenting well? Sound off in the comments section below.
