On the occasion of the celebration of Father's Day, last week we launched a survey on the role of the father in caring for the baby.
After knowing the results, we can conclude that the majority of parents are considered equally involved as the mother in the care of the baby. 61 percent of parents have responded that they share 50 percent of their baby's care with their partner.
There is increasing awareness that the paternal role is, like the maternal, fundamental for the development of children. It is a fact that we are living a change in the paternity model. It is the era of "new parents", men committed to raising children, who enjoy assuming their role as caregivers, protectors and partners.
However, despite the fact that the majority share the baby's care with their partner, according to the survey, only 12 percent assume 80 percent of the baby's care, while the remaining 28 percent assume their involvement is minority. .
Paternity leave time
As for the time the father has spent caring for the baby after birth, the majority (62 percent) has been taken 15 days paternity leave, that is, two days after birth plus 13 days of leave, or 20 days more in case of large family.
15 percent have stopped working for only two days, birth and the next, while it is very low the percentage of parents who shared maternity leave with the mother, only 5 percent. It is something to which they are entitled, but not well seen in the workplace.
On the other hand, the remaining 17 percent are parents who have combined other formulas, such as adding vacation days down by paternity, self-employed professionals who have their time, parents who at the time of birth their children were unemployed or those They couldn't take low.
Parent involvement in baby care at home
Of the baby's care at home, what parents do most is changing the baby's diaper. Most do it often, followed by quite a difference from those who do sometimes, while 9 percent of parents always change their diaper and only 4 percent have never changed a diaper.
After the diaper change, baby bath It is the task that parents do most and enjoy. The percentage of parents who always or often bathe the baby is similar, followed by those who do so sometimes, while 8 percent have said they never bathe the baby.
By last, feed him or dine It's the least they do inside the house. Less than half do it frequently, followed by parents who do it sometimes. Finally, it is similar, and even higher, the percentage of parents who never feed the baby and who always do.
Parent involvement in the care of the baby away from home
Of activities with children away from home, no doubt what parents like best is to go for a walk with the baby. The majority (75 percent) say they do it always or frequently, followed by 21 percent who do it sometimes and only 4 percent never do it.
The pediatrician visits they are of the care in which they participate most. Almost half, 40 percent have responded that they always take the baby to the pediatrician, although we do not know if alone or in the company of the mother, followed by the same percentage of parents who do it frequently or sometimes, while 9 percent One hundred never takes her baby to the pediatrician.
With respect to nursery or school meetings, the frequency is quite distributed, although with an advantage among the parents who always attend. They are followed by those who do it often, sometimes and never, being, by far, the activity in which parents least participate.
Finally, under the option of "other family models" we wanted to know the measure of participation of childcare in cases of single parents and families in which there are two parents of the same sex. We have been able to observe that, in general, they perform more frequently the tasks related to the care of children, although the degree of participation in the care of the baby is similar to that of the families in which there is a father and mother of different sex.
In conclusion of the survey we can say that the role of the father in the care of the baby is experiencing A big change in recent years, for the better. Although there is still a way to go towards total equality, fortunately and for the sake of the children, the father is increasingly involved in baby care.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents who participated in our survey (and the mothers who have done it for the parents) and we hope that they will be reflected in the conclusions.
