Transcript Slide 1

THE IMPORTANCE OF
FATHERS
Adrienne Burgess
22 September 2010
Professionals must
keep up with
CHANGES WITHIN
FAMILIES
Fatherhood is changing
• British fathers now do 25% of childcare related activities
on weekdays and 33% at weekends - more when both
parents work full-time (EOC, 2003)
•
57.8% of children in referred families live with both
biological parents; and 44.8% of the rest have contact with
their father (Phares & Lum, 1997)
• Once “absent” doesn’t mean forever absent: among
fathers who are “not involved” at the time of the birth,
29% are described as “involved” 3 years later
(Kiernan & Smith, 2003)
Motherhood is changing
• 50% of mothers of 9-month-olds are in paid employment
(Dex & Ward, 2010)
• Mothers who don’t work are mainly lone or otherwise
disadvantaged mothers (Hales et al, 2007)
• Unequal sharing of caring work is the largest single
driver of the gender pay gap (Olsen & Walby, 2004)
• Full-time maternity leave taken beyond six months
very negatively affects women’s future earnings
(Cawston et al, 2009)
Family Services must
comply with
POLICY & LEGISLATION
requiring engagement
with fathers
The Children Act (1989)
Fathers are parents under the Act irrespective of whether they
have Parental Responsibility, so they should be involved in
case conferences etc, where decisions are made
The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need
and their Families (DH, 2000)
Assessors must: ‘take all reasonable steps to gather information
about, and from, all relevant family members, whether
resident or not, and requires them to be clear about the roles
played by fathers or father-figures.”
The Childcare Act (2006)
Requires local authorities to identify parents and
prospective parents who are unlikely to use
early childhood services e.g. fathers (who are
specifically mentioned), and facilitate their
access to those services.
The Equality Act (2006)
Requires public bodies to publish an action plan
for promoting gender equality, assess
differential impact of service on women and
men, and gather information on the differential
impact.
Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006)
“The child’s welfare is paramount. This could include a
young father at risk of harm and then the welfare of both the
father and the child is considered.”
The Welfare Act (2009)
Legal change in England & Wales to require birth
registration for unmarried fathers: health and other
professionals will need to engage with fathers for this
purpose.
VERY RECENT GOVERNMENT POLICY explicitly
requiring engagement with fathers
• The Childcare Strategy (DWP, HM Treasury, DCSF,
Cabinet Office, 2009)
• Healthy lives, brighter futures: the strategy for children
and young people’s health (DCSF, DH, 2009)
• Support for All (Green Paper on families) (DCSF, 2010)
• Teenage Pregnancy Strategy: beyond 2010 (DCSF, DH,
2010)
• Maternity and Early Years: making a good start to
family life (DH, DCSF, 2010)
• Parenting and Family Support: guidance for Local
Authorities in England (DCSF, 2010)
And the COALITION . . . ?
So far, none of the previous guidance or
legislation has been repealed. In addition,
The Coalition has committed to:
• encouraging shared parenting from the earliest
stages of pregnancy
• reducing gender inequalities at work
• achieving a better gender balance in the early
years workforce,
• ensuring that both men and women use couple
relationship support services
(The Coalition - our Programme for Government: Freedom,
Fairness, Responsibility - May, 2010)
• reviewing the Family Justice System (June,
2010).
FATHERS’ IMPACT ON
CHILDREN AND
MOTHERS
Fathers affect mothers
•
Child-mother attachment is more secure when child-father
attachment is secure (for review see Guterman & Lee, 2005)
•
Heavy drinking by fathers is associated with double the risk
of insecure attachments between mothers and infants (Eiden
& Leonard, 1996)
•
The father’s smoking is by far the biggest predictor of the
mother’s smoking (Bottorff et al, 2006)
•
Post-natal Depression in mothers is associated with a poor
relationship with her baby’ father, his non-presence at the
birth, his lack of support, low involvement in infant care, his
rigid sex role expectations, being critical/coercive/violent, and
his own poor mental health (for review, see Fisher et al,
2006).
Fathers affect children . . .
‘GOOD-ENOUGH’ DADS
Some people say like father like son. But I think they are wrong.
Like father like daughter. I’m exactly like my Dad.
Not in looks – in personality. We both like fishing and picnics. (Emma, Yr6)
(DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003)
You are my teddy at night. (Naomi, Yr4)
(DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003)
GOOD-ENOUGH DADS
Children with highly involved fathers tend to have:
•better friendships with better-adjusted children
•fewer behaviour problems
•lower criminality and substance abuse
•higher educational achievement
•greater capacity for empathy
•non-traditional attitudes to earning and childcare
•more satisfying adult sexual partnerships
•higher self-esteem and life-satisfaction
(for reviews see Flouri 2005;
Pleck and Masciadrelli 2004)
FATHER – AS – ‘BUFFER’
e.g. . . .
• If fathers do lots of infant care, babies whose mothers work full time
are unlikely to suffer any disadvantage (Gregg & Washbrook, 2003)
• Children tend to be affected by their mother’s poor mental health
(including Post Natal Depression), but a good and close
relationship with their father tends to protect them from the worst
effects (Hall, 2004)
• Children in families suffering from multiple disadvantage talk and learn
better when their fathers or father-figures are satisfied with parenting,
provide financial support and engage in nurturant play
(Black et al, 1995)
BAD DADS
‘My dad ... make me feel bad, (is) strict, not happy,
frightens me, don’t care about me’ (12 year old)
(Russell et al., 1999)
‘I love my dad: loveable, fun, mean, unkind ...
I hate it when my dad comes home drunk
that’s when he starts fighting with my mum’ (11 year-old)
(Russell et al., 1999)
BAD DADS
Conflict with fathers, fathers’ negativity and fathers’ harsh or
neglectful parenting are strongly associated with behaviour
problems in children
(Phares 1999; Flouri 2005)
Fathers’ harsh parenting has a stronger effect than mothers’
on children’s aggression
(Phares 1999; Flouri 2005)
Getting on badly with EVEN ONE PARENT more than doubles
the likelihood of a young person engaging in anti-social
behaviour
(Wood, 2005)
Failure to meet and assess the father puts children at risk:
young expectant fathers who report poor relations with their
own parents during the prenatal interview have higher child
abuse potential scores at follow up (Florsheim & Ngu, 2003)
NO DADS
Dear Dad, I only see you once a week … Some small things I ask of you:
please come to my school plays and come to parents’ evening
to see how I’m getting on. (12 year-old)
(DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003)
Dear Father, I don’t say dear dad, because you have
not been a dad to me, have you? My name is Daniel
I am Rebecca Buck’s son. You might not remember
my mother, but I think about you all the time. (11 year-old)
(DfES/Fathers Direct, 2003)
NO DADS
When children rarely or never see their fathers, they tend to:
• demonise or idealise them
(Kraemer, 2005; Gorrell Barnes et al, 1998)
• blame themselves for their absence
(Pryor & Rodgers, 2001)
• suffer substantial distress, anger and self-doubt
(Fortin et al, 2006; Laumann-Billings & Emery, 1998)
The FATHER’S commitment may be key to the
success of an intervention:
Families are more likely to stay in treatment when:
• The father is supportive of the treatment
(Shapiro & Budman, 1973)
• The father is the more enthusiastic participant
(Littlejohn & Bruggen, 1994).
• The therapeutic alliance with the father is positive
(Cauce et al, 2002).
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NATIONAL CONFERENCE
11 November 2010
London
‘ENGAGING FATHERS AS PARTNERS’
DELIVERING FOR FAMILIES IN THE
‘BIG SOCIETY’
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or
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