Paternal participation in child care and its effects on children's self-esteem and attitudes toward gendered roles

Interviews with forty 10- and 11-year-old children (24 buys and 16girls) in vestigated the effects of parents' division of child care responsibilities on children's self-esteem, their relationships with parents, and their gend ered ideas and preferences. Children whose fathers participated relatively more in the emotional side of parenting (e.g., comforting) Showed greater p references for "feminine" activities and had higher self-esteem than childr en whose fathers were less involved. Children whose fathers performed a hig her proportion of the "work" of parenting (e.g., transporting, planning act ivities, and arranging child care) endorsed a more gender-free model of fam ily life. The absolute amount of time fathers spent with children had no in dependent significant effects. Egalitarian parenting clearly benefits child ren when fathers share "maternal" tasks, but even when fathers do not fully participate in those "maternal" aspects of parenting, dividing the time 50 -50 may benefit mothers without hurting children.