Fathers nowadays are spending more time with their children. In the late 1990s, fathers of children under 5 were spending an average two hours a day on child-related activities, compared to less than a quarter of an hour per day in the mid 1970s. Time spent by fathers with their children accounts for one third of total parental childcare time.
Fathers are more likely to be employed, and to work longer hours, than men without dependant children. It has been noted recently that some fathers even sacrifice their own career ambitions in order to spend more time with their children at a certain point in their lives.

Now lets look at the other side of a coin – men’s earnings. The fact that men’s earnings are generally a higher proportion of the family income than women’s can limit the time men are able to spend with their children. Different patterns emerge where women earn more. Women’s hourly earnings from full-time work are 19% less than men in full-time work - and women’s earnings from part-time work are 41% less than men’s for full-timework. Women’s lower pay levels means that it is mainly women who reduce working hours after their children are born, which reinforces the traditional gender roles in many families. Men are more closely involved in looking after children where the mother earns more than they do. This might mean some problems for men in a so called “Father-friendly employment” arena. Many employers still see flexible working or family-friendly working policies as something for women. However it is not very common in male-dominated workplaces to offer flexible working arrangements than similar to those most women have. Fathers often feel discouraged by workplace norms and culture from taking time off work for family, or expressing a wish for flexible work.

Father’s expectations about whether they would have access to work life balance policies are lower than for mothers. The lack of opportunity for fathers to use flexible work practices to look after children is worrying, as children whose fathers have been actively involved in their lives have better outcomes including:

Babies who are born weighing under approximately 3 pounds tend to have developmental delays. A study published in the May issue of “Pediatrics” found that babies who have a very low birth weight showed stronger cognitive development when their mothers were highly responsive to their needs during infancy. Being responsive has benefits for babies of all birth weights, explains Karen Smith, one of the authors of the study. She suggests that parents respond promptly and in a warm and sensitive manner when Baby offers cues such as crying or fussing. It’s also important to pay attention to what your baby is interested in and help him explore that for as long as he is able or interested. For example, if he’s playing with blocks, talk about them with him. Say things like, “This block is blue,” or “See how we can pile them up?” Avoid redirecting his attention to another toy until he loses interest on his own.

It’s a well known fact that getting baby to sleep through the night is a common challenge for parents. I came across a recent study, which indicates that the more time you spend holding or cuddling up with your little one the more helpful it may be. Researchers looked at several groups of parents and how much time they spent holding their child and whether or not they slept with baby. The fact that parents did or did not sleep with their baby was not very instrumental and seemed not to affect baby’s sleep, however the baby did benefit from lots of physical contact. “I would recommend that parents give their infants a lot of physical contact during the day, not only when the infant is crying, but also when the infant is content and awake,” says Marissa Alvarez, one of the study’s authors. “At the same time, I would remind them that even babies who are being held and well cared for have periods when they cry and cannot be consoled.”

You want to throw a great shower for the mom-to-be. Or perhaps you’re the honored guest, and you’re not quite sure what to do with all this attention. While much of a shower has to do with the personality of the hostess, guest of honor and friends, there are certain aspects that make things great, and a few that can make things ugly rather quickly.

Things to Do!

There are lots of things to do at a shower, but the most important is to have fun. The first thing to do is to plan the party to accommodate as many schedules as possible. In today’s busy world, it can be hard to get everyone together at the same time, but plan into the future a bit to give everyone as much advance notice as possible. You should have food and drinks available. The mom-to-be is probably not drinking alcohol and may not be drinking caffeine so be sure selection is varied and inclusive of everyone.Games are generally something fun to include, so plan one or two, but don’t go overboard. A lot of time at the shower should be spent visiting so that the guests can congratulate the soon-to-be mom and allow plenty of time to get caught up. A shower doesn’t need to be chock full of activities. The most important activities at the shower will be:

What are little girls made of? Sugar and spice and everything nice, of course! Any parent of a little princess can tell you how special it is to have a baby girl. They are sweet, loving and generally pretty good natured. Of course every baby has a flare up or two, but you, as the parent of a precious little angel, can’t help but feel smug when you watch other parents chase wild and rowdy boys around the supermarket.

Playing Nice

Girls just seem to have some sort of internal set of programming that allows them to be a bit more laid back and quiet than their male counterparts. Girls enjoy quiet games and soft items like dolls and blankets. Of course they like to scream and run on occasion, but overall, they are very pleasant to play with. Tea parties, dress up and toy kitchens are endless sources of entertainment, and you love to watch her learn and have fun.It’s been shown countless times that girls favor texture and color in toys. This is why they are so drawn to dolls, teddy bears, and other soft items. Bright colors and bold patterns intrigue them and they love to touch. This actually lasts through adulthood for many girls. The sense of touch is very pronounced in women as well.In addition to touch, little girls as young a few days old show much more interest in looking at faces and building relationships with people than looking at moving items. They adore it when you smile and laugh with them, and little girls are often content just watching adults and other children around them. They are often at peace with their surroundings.

Little Princess

Of course, one of the most fun things about a little girl is the opportunity to play dress up. Yes, you can dress up dolls with her one of these days, but we know you really prefer dressing up baby. Little pink dresses with bows and tights are standards. Hair ribbons and adorable little shoes complete the outfit, and with the variety of baby clothing available to little girls, it’s no wonder parents and grandparents get a bit overzealous in the purchasing department. Everything she wears just makes her look so adorable!If you’re lucky, your little girl will let you get away with dress-up for years, so enjoy it. Find party dresses and patent leather shoes. Get matching tights for every outfit. Why not? She’s a little princess and she should look the part!

Raising a Strong Woman

One of the primary concerns for parents today is raising their daughter to be a strong, self-sufficient young lady. There is endless worry about the impact of too many dolls, not enough outside time, too much freedom, too little freedom and the list goes on. Fortunately, most girls today are being raised by strong, self-sufficient women already, so there is no need for concern. Of course there are countless books to read and programs to watch, but in truth, watching Mom will be the entire lesson she’ll ever need.