bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Alice Yan

More Chinese husbands are open to the idea of becoming stay-at-home fathers in a shift away from traditional mores, according to a recent survey.
The idea that the man of the house should be the breadwinner, while child care and domestic duties are the woman’s duties, is deep-rooted in Chinese culture.
But the survey, jointly conducted by the state-run China Youth Daily and questionnaire website wenjuan.com earlier this month, found that 52.4 per cent of male respondents supported the idea of men being a full-time carer.
The number in favour was lower among women, just 45.8 per cent of whom supported the idea.




But however keen men may be about the idea, there may also be practical difficulties.
Yu Xiang, a middle schoolteacher in Shanghai who has a six-month-old daughter, said he was willing to be a stay-at-home father but in reality it was not practical to do that because his wife, who is also a teacher, did not earn enough to support the family.
He also said his wife was not happy leaving him to do the housework, adding that she often scolded him for doing it badly. “She also said he would not feel comfortable letting me take care of our daughter,” he said. “She says I am too careless.”
Chinese father decides to drop in on daughter’s school … via helicopter
Robin Ge, a financial manager from Shanghai, admitted he took a more old-fashioned view of household duties.
The father of a five-year-old boy said he would not accept the idea of becoming a stay-at-home father even if his wife, an office worker, started earning more than him.
“Perhaps I am a traditional Chinese man,” he said. “I believe men should earn more than women. I remember my father told me years ago that a man’s status in his family is determined by his economic status. Compared with stay-at-home mothers, the acceptance rate for stay-at-home fathers among the public is very low.
“I agree that a father caring for the kids has benefits, such as helping the kid to be brave and responsible. However, that doesn’t mean a man needs to be full-time father. What he should do is to spend much of his spare time caring for and playing with his kid.”




The survey questioned 1,987 married people, some 89.2 per cent of whom were parents. Sixty per cent of the respondents agreed that the stereotypical view of the husband being the breadwinner put fathers off staying at home to look after the children.
However, the number of women who said they were opposed to the idea of stay-at-home fathers, 30.9 per cent, was slightly higher than the 28 per cent of men who did not support the notion.
But women whose husbands have given up their jobs to look after the children generally appreciated what they had done.
“I don’t think a man who stays at home is a failure in life. His sacrifice helps me so much and I really am grateful for his support,” a woman wrote on China’s leading parental website ci123.com, adding that this kind of family is more stable and the relationship between husband and wife is more harmonious.
Chinese father takes daughter, 10, to top school’s open day despite her being on an IV drip
Zhang Baoyi, a sociology professor at the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, said he believed attitudes would change as society evolved.
“To embrace this practice, we need to recognise the contribution and value of homemakers,” Zhang told China Youth Daily.
“The fact that dads are willing to be more involved in their children's lives shows that the traditional mentality of ‘career husband and domestic wife’ is changing.”
Zhang also said that more parents in general were willing to stay at home to provide full-time child care because they were attaching increasing importance to their children’s education.
“The number of stay-at-home fathers or mothers is increasing,” he said.
“Couples should adjust the [family] model … according to their economic conditions and abilities to educate the children.”


China faces rising costs across the board during 3rd week of Iran war

Why China’s AI automation push is a risky social experiment

‘A job that does not feel too painful’: How did gig work go mainstream in China?

China’s infamous ‘Aunt Mei’ arrested after decade-long hunt for child trafficker

China society

More Chinese men open to the idea of becoming stay-at-home fathers

Just over half of the men questioned said they were in favour of stay-at-home fathers. Photo:Shutterstock

News

China

People & Culture


The traditional view that the man of the house must be the breadwinner may be crumbling, according to a recent survey



The traditional view that the man of the house must be the breadwinner may be crumbling, according to a recent survey.


Families in China

Lunar: Stories

More Chinese men open to the idea of becoming stay-at-home fathers

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The traditional view that the man of the house must be the breadwinner may be crumbling, according to a recent survey

The traditional view that the man of the house must be the breadwinner may be crumbling, according to a recent survey