The stereotype of a detached dad who is too busy to look after kids, say diapering a baby, bathe them, or even play with them, is mostly a myth says a new government survey, according to MSN News.
The research shows that most American fathers spend more time with their children and are heavily involved in hands-on parenting, which is higher since a nationally representative survey on fathers' involvement was conducted in 2002.
Jo Jones, researcher at the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control Prevention, said that these results are encouraging.
"Others have found the more involved dads are, the better outcomes for their children," Jones told MSN News.
The outcomes Jones refer to include more academic success of children with fewer behavior problems. The children whose fathers are hands-on dads also show healthier eating habits, the report says.
"Times have changed," Robert Loftus, 34, of Yonkers, N.Y., told MSN News. Lofus quit his six-figure sales job last year to take care for his two young children while his wife works full time. "We're trying to rethink our priorities and family seems to be the No. 1 priority whereas in the past maybe people were more focused on career."
Jennifer Bellamy, a sociologist from the University of Chicago, told MSN News that some old stereotypes on fatherhood still persist. However, she also confirmed the survey and said that the dynamics of fatherhood is now changing.
"Dads are sort of the co-pilots in their families who are usually absent or less involved than moms," Bellamy said. "[Now], they are quite involved in a variety of different and important ways."
These trends on hands-on parenting in the American family are backed years of solid research, and the results of the new study are the latest. The new study involved 4,000 fathers whose age range between 15 and 44, were interviewed in person between 2006 and 2010. The most important part of the interview is that the data are self-reported, meaning, the fathers didn't get input from their wives, partners or others. Most of the men who were interviewed were married or living with a partner.
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