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Developing Father Inclusivity: Concerns and Practical Solutions

Developing Father Inclusivity: Concerns and Practical Solutions. Claire Fraser and Abigail Locke Consult Research & University of Huddersfield. Workshop Outline. Setting the context & literature review Group Exercise – assessment of father inclusivity in own organisation

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Developing Father Inclusivity: Concerns and Practical Solutions

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  1. Developing Father Inclusivity: Concerns and Practical Solutions Claire Fraser and Abigail Locke Consult Research & University of Huddersfield

  2. Workshop Outline • Setting the context & literature review • Group Exercise – assessment of father inclusivity in own organisation • Reflections from research within antenatal provision • Group Exercise – implementing father inclusivity • Sharing views and evaluating success

  3. Fathers in the literature • Part-time, bumbling assistant, baby entertainers (Sunderland, 2004, 2006) • Father as provider discourse deeply entrenched (Dienhart, 1998) • Craig (2006) childcare – mother main carer • Doucet (2006): do men mother?

  4. Group Exercise • Current level of father inclusivity in your organisation • Experiences of trying to develop father inclusivity • Barriers to achieving father inclusivity • Problems encountered – within and across agencies

  5. Fathers in antenatal classesLocke & Budds (forthcoming) 3 main themes arose: • 1. Father as mother’s carer • 2. Father as secondary parent • 3. ‘Blokes’ will do it differently

  6. Father as mother’s carer • Fathers role as carer to mother – spotting ‘baby blues’ - “depressed dear” • Implies father needs to be instructed to seek assistance

  7. Fathers as secondary parent • Fathers role constructed as fulfilling task that mother doesn’t want to fulfil: • ‘I definitely think that’s a dad’s job, dealing with the nails’ (lines 16-17) • Father’s role in parenting and role is the mother’s decision and is mostly assigned when it is convenient for her • Father is constructed as a consolatory or ‘second-class’ parent

  8. ‘Blokes will do it differently’ • Idea of shared parenting - ‘guys are just as good’ • Leaving baby with father deemed as problematic – Mother gets to decide when • ‘right way’; ‘best way’; ‘blokes will do it differently’ (class leader constructions)

  9. Changing role of fathers • ‘Fatherhood’ as an institution is changing • Lupton and Barclay (1997) mother’s role easier to define (cf. Doucet (2006) Do men mother?) • Societal/cultural constraints on fatherhood • Wall & Arnold (2007): the contemporary culture of fatherhood is not one of shared parenting and it can not be so until social expectations regarding parenting roles change… • Much talk of the ‘new father’, but we still have a long way to go

  10. Group Exercise • Implementing father inclusivity • Overcoming the barriers • Developing practical solutions • Measuring success in achieving father inclusivity

  11. Discussion topics • Single father • Stay-at-home-father • Teenage father • Professional father

  12. Summing Up • Group experiences – sharing ideas • How are we doing? Ideas for evaluating success in achieving father inclusivity • Any questions… Claire Fraser, Consult Research claire@consultresearch.co.ukwww.consultresearch.co.uk Abigail Locke, University of Huddersfield a.locke@hud.ac.ukhttp://www2.hud.ac.uk/hhs/staff/shumal2.php

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