Fathers and Their Very Young Children: Future Directions

The biological underpinnings of paternal caregiving derive from the requirements of highly evolved complex organisms and their needs for both extended care and care that adapts to the changing competencies of children as they move from infancy to adulthood. The biological presses that underpin paternal care for children connect to broader survival and reproductive requirements than involve cooperation with other caregivers and the affordances of both the micro and macro environments. Such processes are under exceptional challenge given the rapidly evolving landscape of daily life, the world of work, and family composition. Research must adapt to consider all these factors and to respect the fact that paternal caregiving extends further and further into the adulthood of offspring. Evaluating the quality of paternal behavior during the early childhood must, therefore, look not only to how it promotes well-being during childhood but how it promotes well-being over the life course. Likewise, evaluating the quality of the father-child relationship during early childhood must consider how the quality during the early years promotes father-offspring relationship quality over the life course.