In the article,
“Complexity of Father Involvement in Low- Income Mexican America Families”
Scott Coltrane, Ross D Parke and Michele Adams argue that men are more likely
to share the house hold activities when family experiences financial hardship. It
means that economic hardship play vital roles in low-income Mexican families’
fathers encourage involving more in parenting. When mother share the financial
burden by working long shifts it is also expected that fathers help in house
hold chores and taking care of their children.
The authors argue that higher
levels of educations can also signify women’s higher expectation for men’s
involvement in activities and direct
child supervision. Traditionally, mothers’ are expected to involve with children
as well as fathers’. Women who work are also sharing the financial burden and
definitely expect her spouse to help in house work and involve in parenting.
Mothers’ and fathers’ are equally responsible for taking care of children and
house hold duties. When the family experience financial hardship, it is
expected from both women and men to share the financial and parenting
responsibilities.
Mother and fathers equal
involvement in families help children to understand different attitudes and
perspectives from the involvement of both parents. In traditional families
mothers’ were more involved in parenting than fathers’. Now in changing trends
of gender roles families, father and mother both has equal responsibilities when
involving parenting. The fathers should also take responsibility and
involve in nurturing children and supporting house hold activities.
Society expects mothers’
to be responsible for raising children and taking care of families and father
play breadwinning. Gender role is changing for example, women’s expectation of sharing
work with her partner. When both parents share responsibilities of parenting there
will be minimal burden to raise children. Father roles were primarily
breadwinners, now the modern day role of fathers change as a caregiver.
The authors pointed out that
fathers who work less hours have more time to involve in house hold chores and child
care. Fathers who participated in nurturing children are more likely to helping
out in family duties. People who believe in equality tend to engage in activities
and initiate responsibility for the house hold chores and child care. However,
it is also influence by personal attitude, beliefs, social life, economic and cultural
aspects.
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ReplyDeleteI like the way the Scott Coltrane, Ross D Parke and Michele Adams in the article identify that women have double burden in the family. They have to work and still do the household chores because the men involvement is minimal due to gender roles that have been defined by the society. The article uses a different approach from other research that has been done by including men who are not white and middle class (p.179). The article is inclusive of fathers who had been left out in previous research that had been conducted before.
ReplyDeleteIt is noted that the fathers were more involved in the family depending on their attitudes and perceptions of gender roles. Egalitarian fathers were more involved in household chores as compared to the ones who were still conservative. In the article Mexican American fathers were more involved in the family because of the influence of the culture that emphasizes collectivism and “familism” (p.185). The article would have given more information on the cultural influence on Mexican American father involvement in the family.
The research would have included the children so that we get an in depth analysis of how fathers involvement in the family was being viewed by the children, and find out if gender roles were still being reinforced or if the families were moving towards egalitariasm. It would also be helpful to study Mexican American fathers in high income families and in this case if both parents worked same length of hours. To show if Mexicans fathers were involved in the family generally or if it is the financial challenges that is driving them to get more involved.