Today’s dads spend three times more time with their children than previous generations

In 50 years the structure of the family has changed a great deal and fortunately continues to evolve, even if there are many difficulties, especially as regards the role of women.

Our children are growing up in a very different world than the one we grew up in, and it’s not because strollers can now be set up facing forward or rear-facing, or because car seats are safer, or because there are apps for any need, and Alexa or Google Home singing the lullaby…

Today’s children live in a reality in which the human element is fundamental for their growth but it is no longer always and only the woman who is the parent who exclusively takes care of the children. Despite the fact that we are still very far from gender equality, women have abandoned or are trying to abandon that role of figure dedicated exclusively to the domestic hearth, in order to be able to follow their professional aspirations. It is obvious that when a woman chooses not to be a mother alone, she needs her partner to share and collaborate equally at home and in raising children . Sharing tasks is essential to manage those delicate balances of a family where both parents work.

Authorship in the 2000s

Research tells us that today’s fathers are more involved in raising children than ever before, although not without difficulty.

Modern dads take their parenting role seriously, spending three times as much time with their children as fathers of two generations ago, and shoulder far more chores and duties.

In 1982, about  43% of dads admitted that they had never changed a diaper . Today that number has dropped to about 3% , and it’s a really fantastic figure, because research explains  that when dads dress their children, change their diapers, wash them, tell them stories before bedtime… the father-father relationship child gets stronger as the child grows.

Today’s dads are aware of the importance of their parenting role, consider a fair division of childcare tasks essential, and are striving to accommodate a more even distribution of parenting within their families. families.

The numbers show that things are still not perfect, many dads admit that mom is the one who does the most at home, but a recent study has shown that modern dads spend 30 minutes more on daily household chores than their fathers, and spend more time with their children than previous generations.

The importance of increasingly present dads

Fathers involved in family routines and raising children can educate a new generation that will not see distinctions between male and female roles in the home, hopefully there will no longer be those horrible definitions of “women’s work” as even now they point to tasks such as cleaning , ironing, doing the laundry..

It will really be a beautiful revolution if we all commit ourselves to it.

This tendency of dads to want to be more involved at home isn’t just good for the kids, it’s good for marriages or partnerships (which in turn are good for the kids).

Research indicates that when 60 percent or more of parenting responsibilities fall on mom alone, the relationship between mom and dad suffers. On the other hand, when dads do their part at home, couples experience stronger and more stable relationships. In short, the family is a team game.

Dads need support too

Although today’s dads feel the desire to be more involved and are committed to it, social policies often prevent them from being the fathers they would like to be. Longer paid parental leave for fathers and mothers equally is probably still a utopia, even if something has changed in recent years. In Italy we have 7 days of mandatory leave for fathers with the aim of reaching 10 days in the not too distant future. There is still little, much more effective parenting support policies are needed.

Fathers are probably now experiencing what mothers have been experiencing firsthand for decades: they want to climb the corporate ladder but at the same time they want to spend more time with their children.

How is it possible to reconcile work and wanting to be a very present parent?

It is clear that company policies also need to change to support all parents. Perhaps then, the number of fathers who care equally with the mother of their children (currently 1 in 3) will reflect the number of fathers who want to do so (2 out of 3). And perhaps at that point even mothers, once they become mothers, will no longer be forced to leave their jobs.