Fathering in Australia among couple families with young children

There has been growing recognition of the importance of fathers to families in recent years. Societal trends, such as rising levels of employment among mothers of young children and recognition of the importance of the father–child relationship, have given more prominence to the contribution that fathers make to family life. Governments are increasingly interested in creating conditions that can foster fathers’ involvement in families; for example, through promoting more flexible working arrangements or by ensuring that children maintain contact with fathers following family breakdown. This growing interest in the role of fathers has been mirrored in the scientific community. However, there has been a limited amount of research on fathers in Australia, with the result that there remains much to be learnt about the ways that Australian fathers contribute to families and how they feel about themselves as fathers.

This report aims to increase understanding of the many ways in which fathers in couple families with young children contribute to family life, through the study of their time investment with children, their supportiveness as partners, their financial contribution, their parenting behaviours and styles, and their perceptions of their own adequacy as fathers. The impact of fathers on children’s wellbeing is also examined.

Our dads better than yours: Aussies lead world in parenting

Australian fathers have a poor reputation for sharing the housework and childcare. But it's all relative, isn't it? Compared to fathers in Italy or France, Australian dads are domestic paragons, a new study shows. Even compared to fathers in Denmark, where the government supports their involvement in childcare, Australian dads hold their own. "They do less than Australian women but they compare favourably to men in some other countries," says Lyn Craig, a senior research fellow at the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW.

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