03 november 2008 | Uusisuomi | Survey: Two of the third of fathers have too little time with their children

There are remarkable differences between the different age groups especially about the changed meaning of father’s day

As the father’s day is approaching Vertaa.fi asked the fathers about the meaning of this celebration. There is too little time to be spent with the children. Many father-child relationships suffer from long distances and busy working days. The age groups showed differences especially on reactions how the father’s day has changed within the years, and also on why this is happening. Vertaa.fi-surveys map out the visitor expectations so that the service can better meet them. The father’s day survey had altogether 863 respondents.

Is father’s day as a name incomplete? In the survey conducted by Vertaa.fi 84% said the day is about both themselves and their children. 9% thought the day is only about themselves and 7% said it was about their kids only. In these replies there did not seem to be any major differences between the age groups. According to the answers the Finnish dads would like more to have a day for the fatherhood. In some countries, like Germany, the father’s day is more like a party between father’s and men, and the name father’s day fits better there.

There were neither big differences in age groups on the fact that majority (79 %) of dads would like to spent 9.11. rather 4 hours with their kids than getting a nice present, if they had to choose. This means the kids don’t necessary need to buy a traditional tie or a pair of socks to make their fathers happy.

Regarding question if the meaning of fathers day has changed within the time almost half (43 %) thought that fathers day is much more commercial now a days. One out of six (16 %) saw that the change occurred because the father-child relationship can be very different nowadays. In a similar way, one fifth (18 %) felt that the meaning had changed, but could not