Prospective parents

• P- one strength of reserach into the role of the father is that It can be used to offer advice to parents
• E- parents and prospective parents sometimes agonise over decisions like who should take on the primary caregiver role. For some time this can even mean worrying about whether to have children at all.
• E- mothers may feel pressured to stay home because of stereotypical views of mothers and fathers roles. Equally, fathers may be pressured to focus on work rather than parenting. In Some families this may be economically the best solution
• E- research into the role of the father can be used to offer reassuring advice to parents. For example, heterosexual couples can be informed that fathers are quite capable of becoming primary attachment figures. Also lesbian parents and single mothers can be informed that not having a father does not affect a child’s development
• L- this means that parental anxiety about the role of the father can be reduced