Gendered division of childrearing: Ideals, realities, and the relationship to parental well-being

In this study, a 1999 national probability sample of 234 married parents, both mothers and fathers expressed strongly egalitarian "ideals" that fathers should be equally involved in child-rearing across five nurturant domains - discipline, emotional support, play, monitoring, and care-giving - as well as in financial support. In contrast, mothers perceived much less father involvement in "actual" parenting than fathers perceived - especially in disciplining and providing emotional support for their children. Ideal-actual discrepancies were related to well-being. (Original abstract - amended)