Fathers and Fatherhood in Britain (Occasional Paper) Book

Mothers have long occupied centre stage in Britain as far as parenting is concerned. However, attitudes towards - an expectations of fathers and fatherhood are changing, and during the 1990s the roles, responsibilities and influences of fathers have become a matter of public and political debate. But what do we really know about fathers and fatherhood? This study combines an overview of research, a brief survey of the legal position of fathers and demographic analysis. It looks at fathers at home and at work - their roles in their families and as bread-winners - at the consequences for children of a father's "absence", at support for fatherhood and at developments in the law relating to fatherhood. Social and economic statistics rarely distinguish men who are fathers from those are not. Here, a demographic analysis of the 1992 British Household Panel Study provides estimates of the lifetime fathering of a national sample of men living in private households. It tell us how many men of different ages in Britain have fathered a child and where they live in relation to their dependent children. It illustrates not just the diversity of fatherhood in Britain today but also the continuities: more than eight in ten fathers of dependent children live with all their own biological children, for example. The report concludes by considering the components of a coherent social policy for fathers - the labour market, fiscal and social policies and the legal framework - that would better support fathers and reduce the barriers they face in meeting the multiple roles of fatherhood.Read More