Comparisons between Paternal and Maternal Involvement with Sons: Early to Middle Childhood

This study compared father-son and mother-son involvement in two-parent families from early to middle childhood. Ninety-four families were recruited for a three-year follow-up study that began when the children were four years old. At each time point, in comparison to mothers, fathers were less accessible to their son on weekdays, and spent more one-on-one time with their son on weekend days. Across the three-year period, differences were evident in patterns of father-son and mother-son participation in play and learning activities. Results revealed that parent-child conversations were a rich source of parental involvement during middle childhood with many boys having frequent conversations on a range of topics with both parents: covering shared activities and interests, relationships, daily activities, or involving cognitive stimulation. Findings highlight the importance of obtaining data from both fathers and mothers to provide insight into patterns of continuity and change in parental involvement over time.