Two out of three British adults think that the role dads play in raising their children is undervalued, according to a new poll commissioned for Father's Day.
The reasons people gave for believing fathers are not cherished enough varied from:
Fathers have become stereotyped as incompetent jokes. I was looking at Father's Day cards today and almost all of them are insulting.
To those who feel that dads don't get the recognition they deserve because traditional gender stereotypes have shaped people's attitudes towards them:
Fathers take a larger role in a child's life than they did 10 years ago and rarely seem to have the credit for this.
And those who feel men do not have enough resources available to them to fulfil their potential as fathers:
I think that fathers are overlooked from Day One. Midwives seem to ignore them, doctors seem to ignore them regarding their child's health, and teachers are more likely to speak to mum than dad.
"Work frowns on fathers if they take time off to care for an ill child rather than the wife."
The survey of 2000 men and women was commissioned by the charity Working With Men, which helps young fathers to play a full and active part in their children's lives.
Shane Ryan, Chief Executive of Working With Men said:
"As this poll indicates, there is a wide acknowledgment that the role of fathers is understated. However, there is a growing body of research showing that the input of positive fathers significantly improves the future outcomes of our children.
"Many children's services still falter when it comes to working with dads, which feeds the national reflection in the poll.
"If we can pay more than lip service to including fathers in all aspects of their children's lives, we will begin to see even more positive outcomes for families and lessen a range of negative factors such as school exclusions, low attainment levels and other antisocial behaviours".
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