Everything You Wanted to Know About Dads
Posted on 08. Dec, 2006 by Brian Reid in General
It seems like it was just last week that I was lamenting that no one ever seems to take a look at family dynamics through the prism of dads, practically begging for a comprehensive report to fall from the sky. And yesterday — voila! — a comprehensive report on dads did indeed fall from the sky (more accurately, it was introduced at a DC press conference. But close enough).
The National Fatherhood Initiative’s effort, the Fathering Attitudes Survey (PDF), is a great piece of work. It’s built on what seems like a strong 701-father survey and analyzed with some statistical rigor. NFI is focused pretty tightly on thinking about ways for men to be “involved, responsible, and committed fathers,” and it’s a goal worthy of a lot of support.
I don’t have the space to go through all the of the results, or even all of the important results, but I encourage you to take a look at the 30-page report. It is probably worth calling attention to a few of my longstanding — though often thinly supported — beliefs that are backed up by the NFI survey:
1. The media isn’t doing dads any favors. The report ranks “media/popular culture” as the no. 2 obstacle to good fathering, behind “work responsibilities” but ahead of “financial problems” or “lack of knowledge.” Of survey respondents, 65 percent agreed that “The media (e.g. commercials and TV shows) tend to portray fathers in a negative light.”2. It also confirms the importance of guys connecting with each other. The survey found 73.9 percent of dads drew on “other fathers or men” for help in being a dad. That was no. 2 (after “wife, partner or child’s mother” but ahead of “their mother” and “their father.”) And 77 percent agreed that “as a father, you feel a responsibility to help other fathers improve their fathering skills.”
3. This generation of fathers is increasingly confident in the daddy role. A huge number — 99 percent — agreed that “being a father is a very important part of who you are,” and 78 percent say they have the skills to be a good father.
4. We need to continue to think on ways to prepare guys for fatherhood: 54 percent of dads felt adequately prepared for the gig when they first became fathers.
These snippets don’t do the report justice … it has some nice demographic breakdowns and gives a novel picture of fatherhood.
Chris
09. Dec, 2006
Thanks for this post. I’ve downloaded a copy, it’s good stuff. It’s been a long time coming, and long overdue.
Sara
09. Dec, 2006
Are you interested in Income splitting?
We doing a conference on unpaid caregivers and how income splitting is needed with the families.
If so can you email me sara@landriault.com I’m near Ottawa too. We’re doing the conference Jan 30th on Parliament hill.
daddyclay
13. Dec, 2006
Thanks for the head’s up on this report. I appreciate being able to depend on you to bring the latest news on the dad front to the fore. We’re working on #4 here at dadlabs — the decidedly less-hip-than-you video version of babble.
Al
15. Dec, 2006
I whole-heartedly agree with #2 that dads benefit by connecting with other men. Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs who died Wednesday, was quoted in the KC Star as saying “No one has ever benefited more from association with other men than I have.” Having male friends is a luxury few of us seem to have anymore.
Being connected with other at home dads in our local KCDADs group has been one of the best gifts of my life. It used to be that men had lots of associations with other men - my grandfather has been a Shriner for over 30 years - but we men have gotten away from that. Families and gender roles have changed so much that men need men even more so we can all be better fathers, husbands and sons.
Dana
04. Jan, 2007
In the interest of disclosure, it should be noted that David Blankenhorn, NFI’s Chairman of the Board, was the founder of the conservative Institute for American Values. The NFI has also commissioned work by Maggie Gallagher (see http://center.americanvalues.org/?p=12), one of the leading opponents of same-sex marriage.
This doesn’t negate all of the NFI’s findings in their Father Attitudes study. It does mean that we should be careful using them. I’m all for father’s rights and involvement in families where they apply-but this research shouldn’t be used to deny lesbian moms the right to parent together or marry. I’m afraid this is Gallagher and Blankenhorn’s ultimate goal. Again, this doesn’t mean that everything the NFI is doing is bad, but we should be aware of its associations.