Fathers today are often expected to fulfil the traditional role of 'breadwinner' while taking a more active role in child care. These competing demands can create work–family conflicts. Using data from the Growing Up in Australia longitudinal study, this research explored these conflicts and any effects they may have on fathers’ mental health.

Fathers’ experiences of competing demands in parenting and work domains suggest that increasing work–family conflicts are an issue for many families.

While most people expect to work a 38-hour full-time week, our public school teachers are working far more. In fact, teachers are working an average of 54 hours per week (43 hours at school and 11 hours at home), due to the increasing administrative demands on them to meet compliance standards.

Around 80,000 Australian families now have a stay-at-home dad at the helm, according to this research released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

This paper provides an overview of survey findings and discusses the key results within the context of international literature on early childhood, gender and development, and parenting.