Abstract
Objectives: This research aimed to identify civil servant fathers who parent and provide other forms of childcare for preschoolers, and the factors related to this experience.
Methods: The research sample comprised fathers of preschool children who were engaged in full-time civil servant clerical work. Data were gathered from self-reports via anonymous questionnaires, which included items on individual characteristics and lifestyles, information about fathers who parent and provide other forms of childcare, and their workplace environments. The related factors were analyzed using a t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis.
Results: Of the 414 individuals who received the questionnaire, 346 completed it (effective answer rate=83.6%). The average parenting father score was 20.8±7.6 (max 40 points). The fathers who parented while working as civil servants were strongly influenced by their working spouses, working hours, and number of preschoolers in the house. Fathers’ intentions to utilize childcare support systems were high, although the actual use of these systems, apart from childbirth leave for prospective fathers, was low.
Conclusions: It is important, in promoting fathers as primary childcare providers, to provide them with paternity leave, even if only for a brief period. It is also important that fathers acquire timely paternity leave, given the high likelihood of the father deciding to actively parent if given such an opportunity. Accumulating fathers’ experiences of using childcare support systems might advance an understanding of their parenting, especially in relation to the workplace, and this would further promote fathers’ parenting abilities.
