Babies and their daddies

I was looking at the window this morning when a lovely couple struck me dumb with admiration: a baby with his father. They were walking down the Babymoov alley. The strongest of them seemed very proud to carry the little one. I conclude that they were going to a shooting in our room. It was maybe the baby of one of my coworker, and they were stopping by to say “hello”.

Relationships between a father and his child have changed a lot in the past 25 years. As the French sociologist François de Singly described it: “There were 2 most important values for men with children: work and authority, now they also want closeness. “ 

And it is quite funny to follow the changements trough the years in the movies. For example, Dustin Hoffman in Kramer vs. Kramer (1978) has to live as a single dad for months because his wife was gone. It’s quite touching to see him struggling with the everyday stuff. And finally, he understands what he had been missing spending all his time at work.

Nowadays, things have changed. And many men are experts to change diapers, give the bath or cook dinner for baby. It seems even more glamorous to look after one’s child like some movie stars have claimed to.

Furthermore, technologies and progress in child welfare like strollers allow doing everything with a baby. And to succeed in life men want to spend quality time with their little ones. Hearing their first words, seeing their first tooth!

However, we don’t usually see daddies taking care alone of their kids. Things have changed a little bit with feminism theories and parity. The paternity leave seems a good way to implicate the father in the child life. But new-born babies are still a mother business.

In your opinion, are the daddies more helpful when baby arrives? How do you share roles with your companion to take care of your new born?