On encouraging shared and co-operative parenting
In the
(Dunn, 2005)
(However,) only 10-18% are yet in the ‘high involvement’ category.
(Carlson, 2006)
(But) in
(Oberg & Oberg, 2006)
Where mothers of very young children are employed full-time, substantial care by fathers moderates any negative effects.
(Gregg & Washbrook, 2003)
- Intellectual gains in six month old infants were greater when BOTH mothers and fathers were trained in infant-communication. (Metzl, 1980)
- Parent education can be delivered equally effectively to mother or father (i.e. fathers can be as effective change agents within families as mothers). (Firestone, Kelly & Fike, 1980; Adesso & Lipson, 1981)
- Delivering a parent education programme to both parents is “significantly more effective” than delivering it to just one. (Bakernans-Kranenburg et al, 2003)
- Each individual parent’s sensitivity towards their child (and their child’s attachment to them) is enhanced when both parents are included in the intervention. (Bakernans-Kranenburg et al, 2003)
Fathers are no less important than mothers in a child’s life. The closeness of fathers to their children influences the children’s later psychological well-being, even after allowing for the mother’s influence. If fathers are more closely involved with their children, other things being equal, children develop better friendships, more empathy, high self-esteem, better life satisfaction, and higher educational achievement. And they are less likely to become involved with crime or substance abuse.
Richard Layard and Judy Dunn: A Good Childhood, Searching for Values in a Competitive Age (2009) Page 18
The closer children are to their father, regardless of the quality of the mother-child relationship, the happier, more satisfied, and less distressed they are.
P Amato, Father-child relations Mother-child relations, and Offspring Psychological Well-being in Early Adulthood (1994) Journal of Marriage and the Family
Fathers are far more than just “second adults” in the home. Involved fathers - especially biological fathers - bring positive benefits to their children that no other person is as likely to bring.
Popenoe, D., Life without father: Compelling new evidence that fatherhood and marriage are indispensable for the good of children and society.
Parental conflict
An Australian perspective on conflict: “Post-Separation Conflict Between Estranged Parents: The Perspective of the Non-Custodial Parent” by Anne McMurray and A M Blackmore, from Australian Journal of Marriage & Family, Vol 14, No 3, pp 151-159.