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Dads happier when they split domestic duties: study

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Author: 
Anderssen, Erin
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Article
Publication Date: 
9 Nov 2010

 

EXCERPTS

Here's a new stress-reliever for overloaded dads: Go home tonight and fold the laundry!

In a finding that bodes well for de-stressing moms, a new British study reports that men are happier when they split the domestic duties with their partners and spend more time with their kids.

The survey, which interviewed more than 1,000 fathers over two years, reports that 82 per cent of men said they'd like more time with their family, and agreed that it was not a "woman's job" to look after children.

In fact, the happier dads had partners who worked full-time and roughly the same hours that they did. They also had two kids, on average. Dads with one or three children reported higher levels of stress.

Researchers at the Lancaster University Management school said the study suggests that employers need to be more adaptive to the desires of fathers, while not assuming the burden of childcare will be carried by their female employees.

Caroline Gatrell, the lead researcher of the project, which was carried out by a non-profit organization called Working Families, told the Guardian, "Fathers want to spend more time with their children and are doing more of the direct care for them."

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-reprinted from the Globe and Mail

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