Survey shows people support fathers' bigger role in childcare

BEIJING -- About 71.6 percent of respondents in a recent survey agreed on the joint contribution from both parents in childcare, China Youth Daily reported Thursday.

The surveyed argued that fathers should change their attitude about childcare, which is traditionally considered a job for mothers, according to the survey, conducted by the newspaper's survey center via Wenjuan.com over 2,008 respondents last week.

Close to 71 percent of the respondents worried that the absence of fathers in childcare might cause inequality between husbands and wives while 68.9 percent said mothers would thus suffer from continuous exhaustion and anxiety.

Chen Jing, a mother of a 13-year-old, was quoted by the newspaper as saying that she feels disconnected with the outside world since she spends most of her time taking care of her child and has few friends and social activities outside the family.

About 62.6 percent of the respondents advised regular family outings and activities with the presence of both parents and half of them said husbands and wives should be involved with planning their child's education.

Children need to feel healthy family attachment and learn equality and coordination from their parents to ensure positive mental health, said Chen Zhilin, a psychologist quoted in the survey.