077 - ASA Rose Series Author Meets Critics Session. Nurturing Dads: Social Initiatives for Contemporary Fatherhood (Russell Sage Foundation, 2012) by William Marsiglio and Kevin Michael Roy

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Abstract

What makes a good father? The firsthand accounts in Nurturing Dads show that the answer to this question varies widely and in ways that counter the mainstream "provide and reside" model of fatherhood. Marsiglio and Roy document the personal experiences of more than three hundred men from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds and diverse settings, including fathers-to-be, young adult fathers, middle-class dads, stepfathers, men with multiple children in separate families, and fathers in correctional facilities. They find that most dads express the desire to have strong, close relationships with their children and to develop the nurturing skills to maintain these bonds. But they also find that disadvantaged fathers, including young dads and those in constrained financial and personal circumstances, confront myriad structural obstacles, such as poverty, inadequate education, and poor job opportunities.
Nurturing Dads asserts that society should help fathers become more committed and attentive caregivers and that federal and state agencies, work sites, grassroots advocacy groups, and the media all have roles to play. Recent efforts to introduce state-initiated paternity leave should be coupled with social programs that encourage fathers to develop unconditional commitments to children, to co-parent with mothers, to establish partnerships with their children's other caregivers, and to develop parenting skills and resources before becoming fathers via activities like volunteering and mentoring kids. Ultimately, Marsiglio and Roy argue, such combined strategies would not only change the policy landscape to promote engaged fathering but also change the cultural landscape to view nurturance as a fundamental aspect of good fathering.

Sub Unit

• Author Meets Critics

Session Organizer

• Lee Clarke, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers

Authors

• William Marsiglio, University of Florida

• Kevin Michael Roy, University of Maryland-College Park

Presider

• Lee Clarke, State University of New Jersey-Rutgers

Critics

• Natalia Sarkisian, Boston College

• Andrea Mary Doucet, Brock University

• Jennifer Hamer, University of Kansas