As a part of Quebec’s Semaine de la Paternité, the Community Health and Social Services Network (CHSSN) and the Regroupement pour la Valorisation de la Paternité, a Quebec group focused on promoting the role of the father in modern society, are sharing the results of a recent survey of 2,000 Quebec fathers. Among other things, the survey results state that while fatherhood is a positive experience for 98 per cent of participants, the majority (53 per cent) feel that paternity is not valued enough in society. Eight in ten fathers (80%) say they want fathers to be more encouraged to assert themselves as a parent, with 66 per cent saying that parenting information is often treated as if it is more important for mothers than fathers. According to Russ Kueber of the CHSSN, 400 of the 2,000 fathers surveyed were specifically from English-speaking households. Kueber said that the English-speaking subsection of the survey did not show dramatically different results except in a few key areas, notably that three out of four English-speaking fathers in Quebec feel that the public services offered to children and their parents in spaces like CLSCs, hospitals, medical clinics, schools, and childcare centres do not sufficiently accommodate their needs. Among those needs, the survey pointed to higher stress levels, more difficulty adjusting to the role of father, more doubt and less comfort in their role than their French-speaking counterparts. See full story in the Wednesday, June 12 edition of The Record.
Survey says: Quebecers like being dads
By Gordon Lambie
