Nursery World - Father figures

With men making up 10 per cent of lone parents, how father-friendly are childcare arrangements? Judith Napier investigates some of the issues confronting them Feeling stressed over their children, struggling to cope with loneliness, depression and money worries - all these are issues highlighted by men who are finding themselves fighting the battles for recognition that lone mothers faced decades ago.

Feeling stressed over their children, struggling to cope with loneliness, depression and money worries - all these are issues highlighted by men who are finding themselves fighting the battles for recognition that lone mothers faced decades ago.

A quarter of families in the UK are now headed by a lone parent. A growing number of these, 10 per cent, are lone fathers. Most recent figures for England and Wales from the Office for National Statistics say that by 2001 there were around 326,000 lone fathers, with 422,000 dependent children. In Scotland, latest figures (1999) show 11 per cent of one-parent families are headed by fathers.

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