Work

Involved Fathers and Intensive Parenting in Czechia: Norms and Fathers’ Contextualised Practices

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Intensive parenting norms that emphasise high parental investment to optimise child development are increasingly prevalent in advanced economies. Although motherhood has been widely studied, fatherhood remains underexplored, especially in contexts like Czechia, where support for shared childcare between parents is limited. Using data from the Czech ISSP 2022 and qualitative interviews with Czech middle‐class fathers and mothers (2022–2024), this study examines how intensive parenting norms shape the views and practices of fathers’ involvement in childcare. The survey results show similar levels of support for intensive parenting norms among men and women, irrespective of expectations about paternal care. The interviews reveal three intensive parenting patterns: maternal‐specialised, stimulation‐oriented, and partially egalitarian. Although mothers bear the main emotional and logistical burden, fathers’ participation in childcare remains selective. The findings highlight how intensive parenting norms are enacted in gendered ways, shaped by persistently gendered cultural and institutional constraints.

Source: Social Inclusion

DOI: 10.17645/si.10861

Authors: Jana Klímová Chaloupková, Hana Hašková

Institutions: Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology

Language: English

Topic: Family Dynamics and Relationships

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,132