ABSTRACT
The non-participant father thinks that dealing with young children is definitely not a man's job. Items will nearly all be checked 'never', with perhaps one or two marked 'sometimes'. Specific questions will be answered with 'no, he's never done that', 'he did that once' or 'he'd probably do that if I was ill': that is to say, the circumstances have to be rather exceptional before the husband will put himself out. Often the mother will explain 'He's not really very fussyt about babies, he likes them better when they're older'; or 'I've never asked him to-that's my job'. Mrs Matthew, a lorry-driver's wife, admitted to finding life a continual battle with two high-spirited under-threes to cope with; her husband did not expect, and was not expected, to do anything at all in the house-not even to brush his own shoes.
