I remember my excitement during my pregnancy when I discovered I was having a son (and amazement, quite frankly, being from a family of 4 daughters and no sons!!!) My thinking was that with a son, my dear husband would be more likely to spend time with our new family member… and it seems there’s now research to back up my hunch!

Following on from my post yesterday about what men want at work (flexibility and family time) and why it matters for women (women pay a price in their careers when their spouses are stuck in rigid work patterns) is this new research from Columbia University that found having at least one boy in the family increases the responsibility that fathers take for their children.

Evidence suggests that, from birth, fathers treat sons differently than daughters in the U.S., as well as in developing countries and analysis by Kristin Mammen shows that time spent with children (and without wives) is 22 minutes per day greater (an increase of about 25%) for fathers with sons.  However, before you get too excited, this additional time is predominantly spent watching television!

Click here to access the full report.