Dads are becoming ever more actively involved in the lives of their children and Adam Lindsay argues they deserve greater recognition

Apparently, children whose fathers take an active role in their upbringing are more likely to do well at school and avoid getting into trouble with the police. This seemingly plain piece of common sense is the conclusion of a team of academics from the University of Lancaster, who examined 700 British and international reports spanning 20 years on the impact of fatherhood.

They found that children in Britain are likely to achieve better GCSE results if their fathers are more involved with their development. Led by Professor Charlie Lewis, the research team reported: ‘In families where fathers offer kindness, care and warmth during primary school years, children are likely to do well at secondary school.’

For Daily Mail writers and Tory Party leadership contenders this must sound like perfect material for a sanctimonious sound bite in favour of marriage, followed, no doubt, by yet another brickbat for all those single mums. What’s more, Professor Lewis says that fathers are now the main carers for children when the mothers are at work.

So maybe the publication of this report just before Fathers’ Day was a bit cute, but the timing ensured it was picked up by the national media, thereby helping the good Professor to achieve one of his objectives. His research aims to help extinguish the myth that fathers are remote and irrelevant to the lives of their children. At last! What a change it makes to read something that is supportive of fathers. It’s also refreshing to receive acknowledgement that our role has changed and – more importantly – our approach is vastly different to that of our own fathers.

But wait, Professor Lewis also found that although the amount of time that fathers spent with their children hadn’t changed in 40 years, the sharp rise in the number of working mothers meant that fathers now played a more active role in child-rearing. And this is where I think the good intentions of our friends in academia start to flounder. You see, the modern family unit depends more on the ‘new nanny state’ and not the new enlightened, ‘hands-on’ Dad, to meet the demands of raising children when both parents are working.

This is certainly true of many dual parent households in London and the Home Counties. The combination of rampant house prices, the longest working hours in Europe and the drive for social equality by working mothers, necessitates a ‘third parent’ to look after the kids.

Hence the rise of the eastern European au pair, barely out of her teens, escorting the pre-school children to Wimbledon Park, or negotiating the people carrier through Hampstead to pick up little Sophie and Edmund after school. Professor Lewis’s report suggests as much concluding that in 36% of dual-income families, it is the father more than any other individual who cares for the children when the mother is at work. What happens with the other 64%, I ask?

Am I sounding too negative? Only if you’re feeling a twinge of guilt.
The other day my wife and I listed all our other married friends with children and found that, apart from ourselves, only two other couples out of 13 had a parent who stayed at home full-time to raise the children. Two others (both mothers) worked part-time, but the other eight couples had nannies. This is what I mean by the ‘new nanny state’.

In the old days, when three generations would live under one roof, a grandparent would often help raise the children. Nowadays, grandparents are increasingly considered a nuisance and shunted off to the nearest nursing home. A nanny is preferable to a granny, especially if she looks like Anna Kournikova. She creates a great impression with the other Dads when picking up little Sophie and Edmund at the school gate!

Yes, fathers are taking on more visible and active roles with their children and that’s a good thing, but I’d like to see more of it, and see greater recognition too. Professor Lewis’ report helps but if we are doing such a great job why is it that in a survey conducted by the charity, Fathers Direct, 91% of children aged nine to eleven still want to see more of Dad? Is it because they aren’t getting enough time with Dad, or because they enjoy his company so much that they want more?

I’m not being naïve, but I do like to be optimistic about the future. And there are some facts I can draw on to support this faith. That same group of nine to eleven-year-olds who wanted more time with Dad also valued their fathers and considered the role to be important. No fewer than 88% of boys want to be fathers when they are older, and 90% of girls want the father of their children to be caring rather than rich. Over 75% of these children also said it was OK for Dad to stay at home looking after the kids while Mum goes out to work. Clearly, the kids have come to terms with the concept of the ‘house husband’ better than today’s mothers and fathers.

I am encouraged and find it fortunate that, as ever, the future of parenting lies in the hands of our children.