Introduction
Research on fatherhood has focused largely on parental practices, including caregiving practices and responsibilities, and family time and patterns of interaction among family members. One area of family life that has received less attention in research is family leisure, other than in terms of its benefits for parents, children, and the family as a whole. This article summarises key trends discussed in a research paper titled ?Family Leisure and Changing Ideologies of Parenthood?, with a focus on how changing patterns of family leisure have in turned shaped the practice of fatherhood.
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What is family leisure and how has it changed over time?
Family leisure includes everyday leisure activities, as well as special events such as family vacations. Some research has documented the positive role that family activities can play in terms of enhancing relationships and improving patterns of communication among family members, such as increased marital satisfaction and family cohesion, and enhanced developmental outcomes for children and adolescents.
At the same time, a context in which parenting practices and responsibility have attracted increased scrutiny has encouraged mothers and fathers to focus more attention on being available to their children, as part of ?good parenting?.
This trend has resulted in two outcomes, the author argues. The first is the emergence of ideas about ?intensive mothering?, which have encouraged women to focus their full attention on their children?s needs and to be constantly available to take care of these needs. The second is the emergence of new expectations of fatherhood: while fathers are not expected to engage in intensive parenting, they are increasingly expected to be involved parents, who assist with everyday childcare and develop emotional connections with their children.
For these reasons, family leisure has become a growing commitment that parents organise and construct for the benefit of children and for the family as a whole.
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The challenge of family leisure
Paradoxically, enjoying family leisure time can be challenging. Different family members may have different views about family leisure, sometimes leading to difficulties and conflict within the family.
In dual-parent families, one challenge could be finding time when the father can be present for ?family activities?. Mothers in such families may thus try to facilitate fathers? participation in family activities, for example, by finding activities and times that fit with the interests and work schedules of their partners.
Single parents, on the other hand, have the additional challenge of trying to do everything themselves, including fulfilling their paid work responsibilities, their caregiving responsibilities, and also finding time for free-time activities with their children.
Low-income families face economic and transportation constraints, but may seek to manage these constraints by finding low-cost home-based or neighbourhood-based activities.
For these reasons, organising ?family leisure? can entail much effort, especially for mothers, who disproportionately take on the ?hidden? work of family leisure, such as the planning, scheduling, organising, packing, and cleaning up. However, the value placed on ?family leisure? may make this ?worth it?.
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Differences between mothers and fathers in their experiences of ?family leisure?
Yet fathers and mothers differ in how they create and structure family leisure. The author describes the following trends and differences:
- Trends show that both fathers and mothers have increased the time they spend with their children over the past few decades. While both fathers and mothers have done this by reducing personal time, data shows that fathers are better able to protect at least some leisure time for themselves. Mothers, on the other hand, are more likely to put off their personal leisure until their children are older and more independent. Moreover, the time that mothers devote to their children tends to be characterised by ?active involvement? (such as playing with or interacting with children) rather than more passive or relaxing recreational activities.
- A greater proportion of men?s time with children is ?family time? in that the mother is also present. In other words, fathers spend less time compared to mothers when they are solely responsible for the care of children. Furthermore, one study found that fathers are more likely to think of their family time as ?being with? their children and enjoying the time together. Mothers, on the other hand, tend to be focused more on ?being there? for their children and being ready to respond to their children?s needs.
- Mothers and fathers also emphasise different considerations in their commitment to family leisure. Mothers are more likely to focus on children?s physical activity, health and healthy lifestyles in the selection of outdoor and active family pursuits. Mothers are also more likely to focus on their children learning to get along and communicate with others, and believe that family leisure plays a role here. On the other hand, many parents, especially fathers, emphasise the role that family leisure plays in teaching children about ?values?, such as the importance of family togetherness.
- Family leisure may also be important in understanding the new culture and conduct of fatherhood. There is evidence that fathers are particularly involved with their children in sports, including informal sporting activities as well as organised youth sports. Sports and leisure may thus be a particularly important means of fathering and nurturing father-child bonds.
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Implications
Family leisure as a new ?obligation? of parenthood has created new understandings of motherhood and fatherhood. Its growing importance points to a need to pay more attention to this aspect of family life, in terms of parents? beliefs and values associated with family leisure, the increased workload and level of responsibility that this represents, and how this trend influences diverse groups, depending on their demographic profile, and whether they are fathers or mothers.
About the Author: The Dads for Life Resource Team comprises local content writers and experts, including psychologists, counsellors, educators and social service professionals, dedicated to developing useful resources for dads.
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