Nick Clegg and 'cojones': why we need a major rethink on parenting leave
Last week Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called for an end to ‘Edwardian’ attitudes around work and family – and his wife Miriam threw herself behind his message, stressing that men who look after children have more 'cojones', and that only dinosaurs think otherwise.
Our new summary of research on paternity leave makes crystal clear that dads taking time off work to look after their babies is good news - for dads themselves, for children, and for mums. But as outlined in our new blog and response to Mr Clegg, we need a fairer system of parenting leave, not just ‘cojones’, if we really want to give families choices over how to split their breadwinning and caring roles and responsibilities.
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Policy starts to shift on overnight stays for dads
Momentum is growing for changes in family court policy and practice, following the publication of two key research papers which debunk influential research suggesting that overnight stays for separated fathers are bad for children.
In a recent blog, we described how US academics Richard Warshak and Linda Nielsen have called into question research by leading clinical psychologist Jennifer McIntosh - which has had a profound influence on decisions about post-separation residence and access in her native Australia and elsewhere.
Now the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health, and some key organisations which run Australia’s network of Family Relationship Centres, are revising their policies in response to the Warshak and Nielsen papers - and an emerging consensus that young children with secure attachments to both parents do better. |
Keeping mum
A new survey by Mumsnet and Saatchi & Saatchi suggests the marketing people have got mums all wrong. Less than a fifth of mothers surveyed said they could relate to examples of mothers in advertising. Less than a quarter were happy with people other than their family members calling them ‘mum’. And 60% of mums said their partner is just as involved in parenting as they are. Read more on Mumsnet. |
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Let us help you create resources that engage dads
All too often services and resources that claim to be evidence-based are in fact designed as if only mothers matter (here's our blog about a recent case in point).
The Fatherhood Institute can offer a range of support to commissioners and developers, to help you create ‘real world’ and online services and resources that take into account the strong evidence about fathers’ importance - and achieve better outcomes as a result.
Partner with us in your funding bids and we can help you create something that engages dads, and avoids unhelpful stereotypes. Email us or give us a call on 0845 634 1328 if you'd like to discuss any projects.
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Tweet your frustrations to
#dadsexcluded
We know how infuriating and demoralising it can be for fathers - and mothers - to be faced with services, products and advertising campaigns that ignore, exclude or marginalise dads. So we're inviting people to 'name and shame' the worst culprits by tweeting us at @fatherhoodinst, using the hashtag #dadsexcluded.
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