Dads don’t show children affection

British Parents Still Conform to Gender Stereotypes

• Two in five British fathers aren’t affectionate with their children
• Fathers take an authoritarian role
• Mothers are more likely to spend quality time with their children
• Mothers take on the responsibility to teach their children practical skills such as cooking and riding a bike

New research reveals that the average British family still conforms to many traditional parenting stereotypes, despite shifting attitudes when it comes to raising children.

The study shows that, for the average family, fathers are less likely to show love and affection than mothers, with two in five British dads admitting they aren’t affectionate with their children. Fathers were also found to take an authoritarian approach to parenting by setting clear and strict rules for their children, compared to mothers who take a more permissive role with few or inconsistent rules.

However, whilst dads set more rules for their children, the survey commissioned by MyNametags.com found that fathers give their children more freedom to play outside with their friends than mums (56% vs 62%) and are less strict about making their children save their pocket money (58% vs 63%).

When it comes to the softer skills of parenting, the survey found that mums are more likely to spend quality time with their children (72% vs 66%) and are more likely to help their children with their homework than dads (60% vs 54%).

The data shows that mums are almost a third more likely to arrange playdates for their children than fathers. Furthermore, women are 25% more likely to do arts and crafts with their children and 25% more likely to bake or cook with them. Women were even found to be more likely to teach their child to ride a bike than men (55% vs 39%), something which has traditionally been seen as ‘dad’s job’.

Despite these findings, attitudes are shifting in some areas with fathers becoming increasingly conscious of their role as a parent. Over half (55%) of men say they feel pressure to be a good parent and are more likely to feel they must compensate for being a working parent than women (57% vs 51%). This, in part, could stem from a fear of judgement, with over half (57%) of men admitting that their peers with children influence their parenting style and a further 44% saying that social media is a contributing factor.

Lars B Andersen, Managing Director at MyNametags.com, comments: “Whilst modern families look very different to how they did 50 or 100 years ago, our research shows that many of the stereotypical roles of mums and dads still remain when raising children in the UK.

“We can see that attitudes are shifting, and dads are becoming more conscious of their role when raising children, so it will be interesting to see how this will translate in future family dynamics.”

Visit the My Nametags website to find out more about the differences between men’s and women’s parenting styles.