The involvement of fathers in the care of new-borns and young children is becoming a fact of life in contemporary urban India. However, there is little empirical research on changes in the gender social norms around childcare in India. We do not know if there are some childcare responsibilities that men are happy to take on while there are others which are still considered the ‘Mommy domain’? The article is based on an exploratory research study interrogating the increasing role played by fathers in the care of their young children in urban India. Based on in-depth interviews with two generations of fathers, it focuses on the differences in their participation in childcare activities. The study finds that both, the practice as well as the discourse concerning childcare among urban middle-class Indians are changing and thus the gender norms for childcare responsibility can be said to be somewhat shifting for a certain class of Indian families.

中文翻译：

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父亲和儿童保育：印度的性别社会规范是否正在发生变化？

父亲参与照顾新生儿和幼儿正在成为当代印度城市生活的一个事实。然而，关于印度育儿方面性别社会规范变化的实证研究却很少。我们不知道是否有一些照顾孩子的责任是男性乐意承担的，而另一些责任仍然被认为是“妈妈的领域”？本文基于一项探索性研究，该研究探讨了印度城市中父亲在照顾幼儿方面所发挥的日益重要的作用。基于对两代父亲的深度访谈，关注他们参与育儿活动的差异。研究发现，印度城市中产阶级有关育儿的做法和话语都在发生变化，因此，对于某些印度家庭来说，育儿责任的性别规范可以说正在发生一些变化。