Fathers’ engagement

Fathers equally have strong innate capacities to bond with, relate with and care for infants. Father-infant bonding has both a hormonal/neurobiological basis and a psychological basis and is critical for development of a children.

In most societies around the world, childcare is considered to be the mothers’ responsibility, while fathers are actively discouraged from participating in. National polices and businesses have codified such norms in the form of biased company policies, for example allowing no or only limited parental leave for fathers. These restrict the full enjoyment of parenthood among fathers and male caregivers, while placing considerable burden on mothers or female caregivers. It must be understood that fathers have strong innate capacities to bond with, relate with and care for infants. Father-infant bonding has both a hormonal/neurobiological basis and a psychological basis and is critical for development of a child (Family Included, 2018).

Tips for parents:

  • Before your child is born, plan to take advantage of parental leave policies, manage work hours, etc. to make sure you are ready to dedicate adequate time for childcare and share household responsibilities with your partner.
  • Becoming a father might feel overwhelming at first and involve a huge learning curve. You may feel that your partner has everything under control, while you don’t. Remember that all fathers have an innate ability to bond with and nurture their child and the experience of parenthood is very rewarding for both the child and parent
  • Fathers and male caregivers should be encouraged to fully participate in childcare right from birth and be encouraged to engage in all activities including support with feeding, playing, bathing, kangaroo care, etc. Kangaroo care is known as parental skin-to-skin contact, particularly for newborns, is proven to have health benefits for children. Physical touch makes your baby feel safe and secure and builds trust and connection with you and stimulates your baby’s brain development
  • Ensure health care workers and systems actively encourage fathers’ participation during child’s health check-ups, immunization, etc
  • Ensure parental training and support (e.g., fathers’ groups) providing to create an enabling environment for fathers and male caregivers to develop skills and feel psychologically supported
  • Spend one-on-one time with your baby: this provides the best opportunity to connect and build a bond, while also growing your child’s self-esteem.
  • Talk often to your children, tell stories, sing, and encourage two-way communication
  • Learn children’s cues through their behaviour and body language, e.g., a baby’s cry can sound different when they are hungry and when they are tired.
  • Support partners with breastfeeding, understanding that this can often be challenging and exhausting during the first few months after birth, e.g., give encouragement, hold the baby between feedings, give a bottle as needed, etc.