Nursery World - Attitude problems (1)

The British public is broadly in favour of men working in childcare but has some reservations, according to a MORI poll of 2,000 adults commissioned by the Daycare Trust. Seventy-seven per cent of the adults surveyed supported the idea of men working in childcare, but concerns persist about child protection and perceptions of childcare as 'women's work' (see tables).

Seventy-seven per cent of the adults surveyed supported the idea of men working in childcare, but concerns persist about child protection and perceptions of childcare as 'women's work' (see tables).

The report is published this week at a major conference on men and caring for children, hosted by the Daycare Trust, as part of National Childcare Week 2003.

Its findings graphically illustrate society's confusion over the role of men as childcarers. Charlie Owen, senior research officer at the Thomas Coram Research Unit, has written a briefing paper for the conference called 'Men's Work?'. He says, 'While it is generally accepted that men should play a greater part in the care of their own children, men being employed to care for other people's children is much more controversial. When men enter this most archetypal female occupation, their motives may be thought suspicious and their sexuality called into question.'

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