Italian fathers are taking a more active role in the daily running of the households and today children prefer their cooking to that of their mothers, a new study has found. The study was carried out by an association of psychologists on a cross section of 800 Italian children between the ages of 8 and 16.
More than two thirds of the children quizzed, 68%, said they preferred their father's cooking while 32% said they liked their mother's better. This because 39% of the subject group felt their fathers made more tasty meals and were more likely to grant their requests, while another 29% said they preferred to have dad in the kitchen because he involved them in preparing the meal.
According to 23% of those interviewed, fathers are more likely to involve their children in deciding on a menu, thus creating a "restaurant effect" for the meal. Fathers appear to enjoy themselves in the kitchen with 45% now alternating with the mother in making dinner during the week and 34% taking over at the weekend and on Sundays. In rating the quality of meals prepared by their fathers, 38% of those interviewed said they were best at making meat and fried potatoes, 27% said baked pasta and lasagna-type dishes, 14% indicated homemade pizza, 11% omelettes and 7% pudding desserts.
"Thirty years ago, fathers were not involved in housework but this has changed completely. Today they cook, take the children to the park and have a positive approach to parenting because they are less obsessed by their role and are more willing to experiment," explained psychologist Serenella Salomoni.
Aside from the kitchen, more Italian children today also prefer their father for a broad range of activities and situations.
According to the study, 28% of children prefer their fathers to wake them up and prepare breakfast, 25% prefer their company when watching a movie at home or at the cinema and 18% prefer them to help with homework. However, the growing preference for the father has not diminished the role of the mother. According to the study, 27% of Italian children prefer their mother to give them their bath, 23% turn to their mother's for affection, 19% consider them to be the best shopping partners and 15% consider their mother to be their best confident when it comes to problems of the heart, while 12% consider their
mother the best person to accompany them to their various activities.
In a related study, the National Observatory for the Family found that today 19% of Italian fathers take advantage of the time off the law allows them to take care of their children if the mother also works.
