Family 2 Flashcards
What is the role of fathers in child development?
Multiple: breadwinners, care providers, companions, moral guides, teachers, spouses, protectors
the social script for fathers is less clearly defined
Fathers and attachment
Bowlby wanted mothers at home and fathers working
Percentage of mothers with a young child at work
1997 - % of full times mums was 17%, gradually increased to 25%
% of part time mothers has stayed more steadily, bouncing between 35% to 40%
still living in a time where about a third of mothers are at home
Percentage of fathers with a young child at work
90% of fathers have been employed in work between 1997 and 2017 but the % of part time work has doubled, from 4% to 8%
What are the differences between mothers and fathers interactional style?
few differences
with young children, mothers are more likely to be the safe haven, engage in object playing, play with toys, fathers are the playmate
fathers may reinforce sex role stereotypes more than mothers
What is the big differences between mothers and fathers?
Their involvement with their children
Fathers engagement with their children is 43.5% and their accessibility is 65.6 compared to that of mothers
fathers do not hold primary responsibility for any child care task
parental involvement has increased more slowly than the trend towards maternal employment
Fathers primary activity time spent on child care 1960-2000
Risen from 2 hours per week to 5 hours per week
British - 1 hr to 6.5 hours
French - stayed steady at 2 hours
Mothers primary activity time spent on child care - 1960-2000
Not much change
Spending approximately 8 hours
Largest increase in Australian mothers - 10-15 hours
Decrease in French - 12-7 hours
Why does it matter that mothers still spend a lot of time with their children compared to fathers?
Maternal employment has increased yet they spend more time engaging with their children
What influences how involved fathers are?
Maternal beliefs and attitudes
Paternal self-efficacy
Marital quality
Maternal work hours, mores than paternal work hours
Why do maternal beliefs and attitudes matter?
Mothers gatekeeper - I know best
More predictive of what fathers believe - ill do it myself
What does paternal self-efficacy matter?
I don’t really know what I am doing, don’t think of themselves as naturally skilled
Why does marital quality matter?
More satisfied married happily fathers are more involved with their children and have better relationships, but this isn’t the case for mothers
Why does maternal work hours matter?
How much time fathers are spending with their children is determined by maternal work hours rather than how much time they actually have
What are the consequences of paternal involvement?
Preschool children show more cognitive competence, more internal locos of control, more empathy and less gender-role stereotyping
Primary school kids and adolescents of dads that show positive engagement demonstrate self-control, self-esteem, life skills and social competency
