Do Fathers with Higher Education Pay More Attention to Their Children?

Overview

The aim of the study was to find out whether or not the education, job and working demands of the fathersreflect themselves on their relationship to child and on their common activities. This research has been made inthe frame of ELSPAC project.ELSPAC (European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood) is held under the protection of WHO inseveral European countries. Set is created by children born within the years 1991 and 1992 with permanenthabitation in Brno (Czech Republic). Authors had at our disposal information about common activities of 3034five years old children and their fathers.The connection between both the extent and types of common activities of fathers and children and the level ofgained education of father was proved. The university educated fathers proved themselves in average as morecaring, they especially read more to their children. In many weekend activities, the extent of time spent with theirchildren was comparable with that of fathers with high school education, whose working time was shortest inaverage (moreover they don’t work at the weekends and in the nights). Authors can therefore suppose that fatherswith university education are trying - especially during the working days - to compensate their working load. Thefathers with basic education were relatively the most passive in common activities with their children (except forthe preparation of food). The relation between common activities and father’s employment, extent of his workingload, physical demands of his work, specialisation, work in the night and at the weekends etc. was also found.

Key words:
father, child, common activities, the father’s care, the father’s raising