AN EXPLORATORY STUDY : FATHERS' INVOLVEMENT IN FAMILIES WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

Abstract

This study is about understanding fathers in terms of their roles and level of involvement in families with young children. The two main concerns of the study are: (1) The state of paternal involvement (2) The factors affecting men's involvement with their children A total of 8 father-mother pairs participated in this qualitative study. 6 parent-pairs are Chinese and the other 2 parent-pairs are Indians. Face-to-face interviews are conducted using an interview schedule. Respondents are also requested to do logbook entries for a weekday and a weekend. They are required to record the activities they engaged in from the time they wake up till the time they turn in. This is known as a time budget study and it looks at how respondents allocate their time in a day. Results of this study indicate that men discharge their parental roles depending on a number of factors. These factors are: men's beliefs towards parenting, prior socialisation in their family of origin, their attitudes towards fatherhood; whether it is positive or negative, the skills available in handling siblings' rivalry and institutional practice. Roles played by men in the sample include being the disciplinarian, the teacher who transmits values, the counsellor who gives advice, the security officer who protects the family, and being the children's playmate. When men have positive attitudes about fatherhood, they tend to share their spouses' load in childcare. They are more likely to take care of the physical needs of children. The strongest factor that affects fathers' involvement is paid employment. Men spend, on average, 1.6 hours interacting with their children on a weekday. On weekends, the interaction time is twice as long. Family time is only available on weekends. And men hardly attend parenting seminars or workshops. One of the main challenges faced by fathers is balancing work and family. Inherent to this challenge is finding more time to spend with their children. Recommendations regarding how to reach out to fathers and to encourage them to spend more time with their children in the local context are made towards the end of the study.