Early twentieth-century New Zealand fathers have commonly been regarded as distant figures in their children's lives, minimally involved in child care, and expressing their parenting in breadwinning terms. Although the numbers of men who married and had families steadily increased between 1900 and 1940, it is generally accepted that little changed in terms of men's parenting participation in the home. This thesis tests the veracity of these assumptions by comparing the private experiences of fathers with official and public records of fatherhood. It also examines the degree to which the culture of fatherhood and fathering practices 'modernised' during this period.
Fathering between 1900 and 1940 was significantly impacted by the fact that mothers were regarded as the primary care givers in- New Zealand homes during that period. By 1900 social expectations of fathers were relatively well defined, although some important new directions in social thinking about fathers were also developing (Chapter one). However, the socially-constructed parameters defining fatherhood did not mean all fathers fathered alike. A wide variety of parenting attitudes and practices characterised fathering in private (Chapter Two). Yet fathering was always subject to public and official scrutiny, and Chapter Three examines politicians' efforts to encourage and improve fathering responsibility prior to the First World War. Ironically, these efforts succeeded-in diminishing some of the domestic patriarchal authority fathers exercised over their children (Chapter Four). This patriarchal/paternal authority was challenged at the same time the state and the Plunket Society helped entrench an increasingly mother-prioritised culture of child care in New Zealand society (Chapter Five).
In the interwar years, fathers faced significant threats to their idea of themselves as breadwinners, some of them falling foul of the state and its determination to tackle the 'errant parent' as a result (Chapter Six). But fathers and fatherhood did not stand still, and by the 1930s some essential differences separated them from their 1900s predecessors. The culture of fatherhood was impacted more than fathering practice by 'modernising' attitudes to child care and the new relational paradigms influencing parent-child interaction at this time. But attitudes influence conduct, and although a mother-prioritised parenting culture remained intact into the 1940s, fathers were learning to understand their parenting place in the home and their interaction with children in significantly new ways (Chapters Seven and Eight). / Whole document restricted, but available by request, use the feedback form to request access.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:AUCKLAND/oai:researchspace.auckland.ac.nz:2292/1222 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | Frank, Timothy |
| Publisher | ResearchSpace@Auckland |
| Source Sets | University of Auckland |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | Scanned from print thesis |
| Rights | Whole document restricted but available by request. Items in ResearchSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated., https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm, Copyright: The author |
| Relation | PhD Thesis - University of Auckland, UoA1473898 |
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