• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.103-120
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• 2021

Recently, the importance of the fathers role in the care of young children has been emphasized in Korea for the balance of childcare responsibilities between mothers and fathers. This study investigates the trends in paternal childcare in Korea over the last 15 years. Childcare is divided into primary and developmental care and fathers's Childcare time and participation rates are inverstigated for dual- and single-income households. Data are collected from the four waves of the five-yearly Statistics of Korea Life Time Surveys between 2004(t₁) and 2019(t₄) including the workday time diaries of fathers with preschool children(n₁=2,264, n₂=1,242, n₃=959, n₄=952). Three major results are identified. First, paternal childcare time and participation rates have increased with dual-income fathers spending 24 more minutes a day with their young child(ren) in 2019 than in 2004, which is nearly double. Second, in the analysis of fathers' childcare time use and participation rates comparing primary and developmental care, primary care is found to have increased more than developmental care, especially among dual income fathers: this further exhibits a reversed relation between primary and developmental care over time. Third, the determinants of paternal childcare time are fathers' age, market labor time, commuting time, gender equality consciousness, and education. In particular, market labor time was significant in all four waves, while gender equality consciousness is only significant for single-income fathers. Based on these results, a specific agenda is provided for family-friendly policies to improve the balance of childcare roles between fathers and mothers, especially encouraging increased(significant and sufficient) participation of fathers in primary care activities.

• Journal of Family Resource Management and Policy Review
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.71-84
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• 2022

This study analyzed 2019 time survey data from the National Statistical Office to examine the childcare behaviors of fathers with preschool children and their determinants, considering types of care and working/nonworking days. The main results of this study are as follows. First, paternal childcare time of nonworking days was three times more than that of working days, and the participation rate was also higher on nonworking days. Second, there was no significant difference in the amount of time spent on primary care and developmental care by fathers, whether from dual- or single-income families. Third, it seems that fathers adjust their participation in childcare between working days and nonworking days in consideration of the mother's time availability. Fourth, the variables related to childcare needs had a significant influence on paternal childcare time on both working and nonworking days. Fathers' developmental care time was not explained by the independent variables entered into the regression analysis. As a result of the study, it is necessary to reduce fathers' working hours and increase family-friendly systems to increase fathers' participation in childrearing. Fathers' perception of parental responsibility must also be changed.