Bringing up baby: A man practices on a life-size doll during a child care session at a "fathering school" in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, in November. KYODO
Friday, Jan. 29, 2010
By KYOTA SHIROYAMA
Kyodo News
More than a dozen men last autumn hoping to take on a greater role in child rearing gathered in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, after work for lectures on child care.
One of them, the father of an elementary school boy, said, "I want to consider child rearing anew."
A bachelor said was attending the eight-lecture course to prepare for the day he becomes a father.
Around 58 percent of male company employees say they want "to strike a balance between work, and housework and child rearing," according to a poll conducted by Mitsubishi UFJ Consulting Co.
However, the survey commissioned by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry found that 74 percent of male workers with preschool children put priority on work.
The nonprofit organization Fathering Japan set up the "fathering school" primarily for prospective fathers. The course covers ways to prevent illness, laws pertaining to child-rearing, and training sessions using life-size dolls of kids.
Tetsuya Ando, representative director of Fathering Japan, hopes the course helps participants find a sense of enjoyment in child care and assists them in developing networks.
Ando said he opened the school because there were no continuous learning opportunities for men to prepare for fatherhood.
He said "konkatsu" activities for men and women to find partners through marriage agencies and group meetings have become popular, but the "power of child care" will serve as a trump card for men.
Tokyo resident Shota Araki, 27, said attending the course gave him an opportunity to consider seriously what he can do before his wife gives birth next month.
Because he stays late at the office on weekdays, he has to juggle work to attend the weekly course. Planning to take parental leave, he said, "I'd like to raise awareness in the company so that employees spend more time with their children on weekdays."
Masami Ohinata, a professor of developmental psychology at Keisen University's graduate school in Tokyo, said the course provides a new avenue for men to approach child care, which is considered the preserve of women.
But Ohinata said there are many men who are unable to participate in child care even if they want to and the challenge is to enable them to play a more active role.
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