Población de estudio

More than three-quarters of the mothers interviewed stated that they would like to see more father involvement in Sure Start. Mothers typically stated that they were in favour of encouraging both father and male staff involvement in Sure Start. One stated:

“I think it’s nice to have representation of both genders and I think if there are men out there who are looking after their children then

obviously it’s a great place to bring your children and it’s just nice to have the different role models.” (Mother).

Another mother said of father involvement:

“I think it should be more men, because I’m sure there’s a lot of single dads out there, and dads that don’t work and the mums work or whatever, where they could bring their children instead. They’re probably just sat at home or whatever.” (Mother).

The remainder of the mothers interviewed took a more neutral stance, commonly stating that the level of father involvement in Sure Start was of little importance to them. The comment: “It doesn’t really bother me either way.” (Mother, round one programme) is typical of this viewpoint. None of the mothers stated that they did not want fathers involved with Sure Start or that they favoured less male involvement.

The main reason given by mothers for favouring greater levels of father involvement in Sure Start was the potential benefit to their children of being presented with positive male role models. In addition, about one-third of the mothers interviewed stated that fathers could benefit from childcare and parenting training provided by Sure Start. As one mother said:

“I hope after doing the nurturing course, he’ll realise what sort of needs to be put in to get a happy family as I call it. A perfect family if you like… when I was doing the courses I was saying: ‘Look we’ve got to do this, this, and this’ and it’s: ‘Why?’ and I’d try to explain. But it’s not the same as getting it first hand.” (Mother).

Mothers’ accounts not only reflect positive feelings about including fathers, they also further illustrate the problem of integrating men into a predominantly female environment. One mother who attends a number of Sure Start activities and sessions with her male partner commented on the reaction to him from other mothers:

“Well in the first stage I’d say [female members of the group were] a bit shocked… Because they don’t really see many husbands or boyfriends, so it’s that… more surprised really than anything that somebody’s turned up – ‘there’s a man here!’ (laughs)… then everybody’s talking to him, they thought: ‘I wish more [fathers] would get involved.’” (Mother).

There is a negative side to increased paternal involvement. As female environments, Sure Start programmes provide time away from family life. For two mothers, their positive attitude to father involvement in Sure Start did not extend to their own partners. Although they felt that more father and male staff involvement was to be encouraged, one said of her own partner:

“I don’t want him coming in though, I see enough of him.” (Mother).

The minority of mothers who expressed resistance to paternal involvement in Sure Start activities were either concerned that the presence of fathers may

exacerbate pre-existing difficulties with male partners or mean that husbands are encroaching on ‘their space’ (two mothers).

“No [I wouldn’t like my husband to be more involved in Sure Start], because I see my friends up here and we sit and yap and he wouldn’t be interested in what we’re on about… He never used to come to ante-natal or anything like that with me because I didn’t want him to though.” (Mother).

A further two mothers were suspicious of men’s motives for being around children. Although the mothers felt that fathers and male staff should be encouraged to become involved with Sure Start, they noted that an air of suspicion sometimes surrounded the notion of male involvement with children and childcare. One of these mothers said:

“It would be nice to see a lot more men getting involved [with Sure Start] but they’ve always got that stereotype. I think a lot of men think that way themselves: ‘I’d like to work with children but what are people going to say? And how’s it going to look?’. And you have to take that on board. And I think that in itself is more a society thing and hopefully it will change in time… You wouldn’t expect a man to walk down the street and say ‘Oh your baby’s so cute’. Because you’ll think: ‘What on earth are you doing looking at my baby?’ I suppose if you were in the park playing football and the guy kicked the ball to the little boy you’re not going to mind that so much. I think there are boundaries for men… It would take a while for you to feel comfortable around them with your children. Whereas with a female you just feel fine.” (Mother).

In conclusion a majority of the mothers interviewed said that they would like to see more father involvement in Sure Start, although many of them had thought little about the topic prior to being interviewed. In general there was a recognition that few fathers were involved in the programme, and for some this reflected an acceptance that this pattern was often the case in services for children and families.