ABSTRACT
In fathers' own constructions, their relationships and activities with their children significantly contributed to who they were as developing people. Men saw fathering as a foundational force in shaping their own development. Fathering defined much of their identity, took much of their time and energy, and shaped their daily schedules and developmental outcomes. In two-parent households, mothers and fathers have the potential to provide a greater balance than what is typically available in a one-parent household. Textbooks on adult development have little to say about the effects of parenting on adult development, and even less to say, at least explicitly, about balance. The current study provides empirical support to the notion that fathering changes men's life course and development. As men apply themselves to active engagement in fathering, they immerse themselves into a rapidly changing and complex array of shifting conditions.
