Cross-cultural uses of research on fathering

A famous temperance song by Henry Clay Work may well reflect the state of research on fathering: Gradually, over the past several decades, fathers have been coming home, partic- ularly in industrial and postindustrial societies. They return before one, stoke up the fires, light up the house, and increasingly tend to brother Benny. They do so out of necessity-in the single-parent households, in families with two employed parents-or out of desire and conviction. The scenarios across the landscape and eras are multitude, even though the father as childcare taker seems to have been-and in some measure still is-a relatively rare phenomenon. Information about him in this role is rarer yet.