ABSTRACT
In this contextualising chapter we examine broader government data from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States in regard to contemporary models of fathering, considering shifts across recent decades in terms of men and caregiving. We will accomplish this by examining policy and prevalence data. Through this we will link prevalence data from each country to the respective government policies in order to consider how changes in policy shape the role of men in primary caregiving. We will also compare these three countries to examples from Europe where government support for men as primary caregivers is more widely available, and where rates of primary caregiving by men are typically higher. Through presenting government data and policies, this second chapter emphasises the link between government practices and parenting practices, and in so doing provides something of the broader context through which we can understand how media representations are likely shaped by the ways in which families are governed in relation to particular social norms (specifically in regards to masculinity).
