Fathers' Involvement in Housework and Child Care with School-Aged Daughters

This study examined patterns and correlates of fathers' involvement in household chores and child care. Data were collected from 40 upper middle-class families in metropolitan Boston (mothers, fathers, and school-aged daughters). Although fathers spend significant time in child care and do perform a number of child-care tasks and household chores, the traditional pattern still holds sway to some degree: Mothers spend significantly more time in child care and do more of the traditionally feminine child-care tasks and household chores, while fathers do more of the traditionally masculine household chores. Fathers' solo participation in child care was found to be significantly associated with his Parental Awareness (a cognitivedevelopmental measure), pro-feminist attitudes toward women, and the performance of certain feminine tasks (caring for children and preparation of meals). Implications for family counselors and family life educators are discussed.