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More playtime with dad during the COVID-19 pandemic may turn out to be one of the few positives to emerge for children from the virus. It could also serve as some compensation for children\u2019s considerable losses in school learning and access to friends.<\/p>\n
Many children may have benefited during this time from the special contribution of playing with fathers to their social, cognitive, and emotional development.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because many fathers have spent more time at home during the pandemic. They have also spent more time caring for their children. While that shift has been particularly pronounced during the pandemic, according to official data, it also reflects a longer-term trend, going back 40 years, of gradually increasing paternal involvement.<\/p>\n
On average, fathers spend a higher proportion of their time caring for children than mothers playfully interacting with their children. That share may have shifted during the pandemic, but the amount of time overall that dads spend playing is likely to have risen.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pandemic reminds policymakers how jobs can be remodelled to help fathers participate more in their children\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n