A recent study of American dads reveals that a father’s role has greatly expanded over the course of the last few decades. In addition, the study showed that fathers believed that being a parent was central to their identity.
However, the study also reported that many viewed women as being the better-equipped gender to rear children. Studies like this underscore the need for zealous advocacy for father’s rights so that the custody arrangement ordered by the courts is consistent with the reality of how families operate today.
Findings Made by the Study
This study was conducted by the Pew Research Center, and it made multiple interesting findings:
Being a father is a main part of a dad’s identity. Fathers are just as likely as mothers to be of the opinion that parenting is extremely important to who they are as a person. In fact, 46 percent of dads (versus 41 percent of moms) report that they find child-rearing enjoyable all of the time.
Compared to 50 years ago, dads are much more involved in parenting. Dads say they spend seven hours a week on child care, which is about three times the amount reported in 1965. Even this increase is not enough for fathers. About half of all dads say they do not spend enough time with their children. Only 39 percent of dads believe they are doing a “very good job” with child rearing, compared with 51 percent of mothers.
A significant number of people believe mothers are better suited to parent. Slightly more than half of Americans say that a new baby is best cared for by the mother (even if breastfeeding is not a factor). Only 1 percent believe that fathers do a better job than mothers, and 45 percent say both parents do about equally well.
A large majority (70 percent) of Americans believe it is equally important for newborns to bond with both parents. More than a quarter believe that bonding with the mother is more important, and only 2 percent believe that a newborn bonding with his or her father is more important.
Contact a San Jose Child Custody Lawyer
Your rights to your children extend beyond providing for them financially and a limited custody schedule. If you want to be a more active part of your children’s life, you should seek legal counsel who can make your best arguments to a judge or your ex’s attorney. Contact the knowledgeable San Jose, CA father’s rights attorney at Dominion Law Group, LLP by calling 408-288-5592.
Sources:
http://www.courts.ca.gov/29309.htm
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=3011.&lawCode=FAM
