Lakhasly

Fathers’ Time Spent With Children Researchers have long suggested that a “new fatherhood” is emerging, one that allows for balance between workplace and home responsibilities. Although no state offers a distinct paternity leave, several states have addressed 1 of the major barriers for fathers in taking leave to care for children and family by establishing paid family leave policies. In 1 study in fathers working for Fortune 500 companies, 85% took some time off after the birth of the child, generally for 1 to 2 weeks (unpaid), and reported feeling more stressed about coordinating family-work conflicts than mothers did.25 Generally speaking, in families, work and time with children often compete with one another, with parents spending more time in the workplace than they are able to spend at home. With the use of time-use diaries such as the American Time Use Survey, the Pew Research on Social and Demographic Trends reported that although mothers continue to do the majority of work at home and with children, fathers have increased their time in both categories over the years. Comparing 1965 with 2011, fathers more than doubled their time spent on housework (4 vs 10 hours/week) and child care (2.5 vs 7 hours/week).26 Researchers point to this increase as evidence of a subgroup of “new fathers” who appear to preserve time with children, likely by cutting back on, or incorporating their children into, their leisure time, especially on weekends.27,28

Fathers’ Time Spent With Children
Researchers have long suggested that a “new fatherhood” is emerging, one that allows for balance between workplace and home responsibilities. Although no state offers a distinct paternity leave, several states have addressed 1 of the major barriers for fathers in taking leave to care for children and family by establishing paid family leave policies. In 1 study in fathers working for Fortune 500 companies, 85% took some time off after the birth of the child, generally for 1 to 2 weeks (unpaid), and reported feeling more stressed about coordinating family-work conflicts than mothers did.25 Generally speaking, in families, work and time with children often compete with one another, with parents spending more time in the workplace than they are able to spend at home. With the use of time-use diaries such as the American Time Use Survey, the Pew Research on Social and Demographic Trends reported that although mothers continue to do the majority of work at home and with children, fathers have increased their time in both categories over the years. Comparing 1965 with 2011, fathers more than doubled their time spent on housework (4 vs 10 hours/week) and child care (2.5 vs 7 hours/week).26 Researchers point to this increase as evidence of a subgroup of “new fathers” who appear to preserve time with children, likely by cutting back on, or incorporating their children into, their leisure time, especially on weekends.27,28