COVID may have enhanced many dads' involvement in parenting – why caregiving roles can last

WASHINGTON - Jan. 19, 2023 - PRLog -- By: Paul Hodkinson, Rachel Brooks, University of Surrey

Recent data from the UK's Office for National Statistics suggests the COVID pandemic may have triggered a substantial rise in the number of stay-at-home dads across the country. One in nine stay-at-home parents were fathers in 2022, compared with one in 14 in 2019.

The pandemic may also have accelerated a broader shift in the share of childcare fathers are taking on. Figures suggest UK working fathers spent 65% of the time working mothers did on childcare in 2022, compared with 54% in 2014 to 2015.

Substantial disparities remain, of course. UK mothers still form the vast majority of stay-at-home parents, and are more likely than fathers (35% compared with 6%) to work part-time.

Nevertheless, the increase in fathers' caregiving suggests that, although mothers often took on a disproportionate share of lockdown childcare, the substantial extra time many fathers spent with their children may have prompted lasting shifts.

Our Research

A growing body of research on caregiving fathers and their families is helping to answer questions about how fathers come to take on extensive childcare, adapt to different responsibilities and manage challenges.

Our research is centred on fathers in the UK who are equal or primary carers. We've interviewed a group of such fathers twice, first in 2016 and then in 2021, in the middle of a COVID lockdown.

The fathers in our research had often initially taken on the roles of primary or equal carer unexpectedly, in response to work, personal or family circumstances. But once taken on, these roles seemed to lead to lasting changes.

In other cases, parents took turns to shoulder the care and home-schooling.

https://theconversation.com/covid-may-have-enhanced-many-...

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