Fathers Refuse to Change Diapers, New Poll Reveals

Although the times when only the woman was supposed to do all the chores around the house, take care of the children and have dinner ready for when the hard-working husband got home are long gone, something of that mentality is still lingering around with the new fathers. Only one in five daddies changes diapers, the remaining four believing all the dirty work should be done by the woman, as a new poll conducted by What’sOn4LittleOnes reveals.

According to the answers provided by over 2,000 young mums to the kids’ activities website, fathers still see changing diapers and washing the baby as exclusively a woman’s job. As far as they’re concerned, their only responsibility is that of getting home after work – by which time the baby should be squeaky clean and freshly changed – and playing with the little one, or spending “quality time,” as they like to say.

The same poll also comes to show that, whereas a whopping 60 percent of dads are obstinate about not changing diapers, only 13 percent of them can be talked into assisting their partner when giving birth. As the website indicates, this goes against what health professionals are urging expectant parents to do, namely to become involved in the child’s life from day one. Granted, women too would rather choose their own mothers or a female friend to have in the delivery room than the man they share their life with, as the same poll indicates.

“Whilst this news is shocking, it remains a fact that for the first few months mum will be home alone with the baby whilst dad works long hours to bring in the bread and butter. In defense of dads, many women would prefer to have their own mums or a close friend to support them during the birthing process, rather than their partner.” Sam Willoughby, spokesperson for the aforementioned website, explains for the Daily Mail.

Similarly, mothers are also in charge of the nighttime routine, with fathers choosing to ignore the baby’s crying and having the mother wake up to attend to it. Of the 2,000 queried women, 89 percent revealed that they were first to wake up when it came to hearing the baby cry or having to bottle-feed it.