Fathers’ Participation in Childcare Within Navajo Indian Families

Abstract

Fathers’ and mothers’ reports of their participation in early caregiving tasks and the amount of social support they received regarding their involvement with their infants were examined for 28 two‐parent Navajo Indian families. Mothers were significantly more involved in basic caregiving activities than fathers. Fathers invested about sixty percent as much time as mothers did in direct caregiving tasks. Mothers and fathers did not differ on the degree to which they reported receiving social supports for childcare tasks. Navajo parents received significantly more extrafamilial and/or institutional sources of support than family support for early caregiving activities. Navajo fathers were highly involved with their young children. The results are discussed in relation to role differences in early caregiving within Navajo families.