Father’s participation in childcare and household tasks

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on fathers’ engagement in caregiving and household tasks and their perception of a father’s role in the household. The aim of the paper is to find out what fathers perceive as ˝being responsible˝ and how their perception is related to their engagement and role in the household. Therefore, we carried out research among employed or self-employed men, living with their female partners and children in the same household. The research was carried out in September 2019 in a Central European country (Slovenia). Results of our research support the stereotypic classification of household tasks in terms of gender. Fathers who consider participation in care and upbringing of children as a relevant aspect of a responsible father more frequently do housekeeping, washing the dishes (washing and stacking), garbage collection and hanging up and collecting laundry. Fathers who consider financial support as a relevant aspect of a responsible father more frequently pay the bills; they also agree that a mother is considered to be much more burdened with regard to unpaid work than a father.