‘Virtuoso ideal daddy’: Finnish children's perceptions of good fatherhood

Abstract

Changes in family structures, such as the increase in the number of cohabiting couples, divorces, and blended families pose new challenges for fatherhood and research on fatherhood has been mainly adult-centred. This research studied how Finnish children perceive good fatherhood and what expectations they set for fathers. The following research questions were set for the study: (1) How do Finnish children describe a good father? and (2) How do Finnish girls' and boys' perceptions of a good father differ from each other? The participants of this study comprised pupils (n = 39; 21 girls and 18 boys aged 10–12 years) from 3 to 6 grades at a typical northern Finland school. This was a narrative study in which pupils' narratives of a good father were used as the data. The pupils' narratives of a good fatherhood could be categorised into seven main types which are introduced as findings of the study. Also a metanarrative of a good father was composed based on the children's narratives. In conclusion, a good father's virtues as the basis on a good father–child relationship are discussed.