> Hypothesis: Today's dads behave more like kids, compared to previous generations.
> I mean, 40 year olds dress like teenagers (sneakers, t-shirt, jeans, sometimes a cap), they often have the same hobbies as teenagers (e.g. video gaming)...
I'm with you to this point. The 'adult' father figures of the past - for example, as exaggerated in the character of George Banks from Mary Poppins - were much more austere and had higher societal requirements regarding acceptable activities and behaviors. If that means that they are involved in the lives of their children rather than simply trusting that the nanny has them scrubbed, tubbed, and adequately fed, so much the better!
As Mr. Banks lamented,
You've got to grind, grind, grind
At that grindstone
Though childhood slips like sand through a sieve
And all too soon they've up and grown
And then they've flown
And it's too late for you to give
Just that spoonful of sugar
To help the medicine go down
Mr. Banks was a miserable person, and his children needed a father figure. If today's dads are more like Bert and less like Mr. Banks, good for them!
> and responsibility is low because there is a high level of social security.
Uh, I took a different track than you did. You seem to be of the opinion that fathers being more involved is due to the fact that they are kids. I believe that they choose instead to decline the negative aspects of traditional masculinity and, in so doing, are better than if they had maintained those aspects. This may mean that they wear comfortable clothes rather than suffering in a suit and tie, or that they are more active (their children may see their fathers doing undignified activities like running when they could be walking), or that they change their kids' diapers or feed them rather than leaving those tasks to the womenfolk. All positive changes, in my opinion!
People shouldn't need a fear of death by starvation to motivate them. If a removal of this fear allows them to be better people, that's a good thing. If some people abuse the safety net, things would not be better if it were absent and they simply crashed.
> I mean, 40 year olds dress like teenagers (sneakers, t-shirt, jeans, sometimes a cap), they often have the same hobbies as teenagers (e.g. video gaming)...
I'm with you to this point. The 'adult' father figures of the past - for example, as exaggerated in the character of George Banks from Mary Poppins - were much more austere and had higher societal requirements regarding acceptable activities and behaviors. If that means that they are involved in the lives of their children rather than simply trusting that the nanny has them scrubbed, tubbed, and adequately fed, so much the better!
As Mr. Banks lamented,
Mr. Banks was a miserable person, and his children needed a father figure. If today's dads are more like Bert and less like Mr. Banks, good for them!> and responsibility is low because there is a high level of social security.
Uh, I took a different track than you did. You seem to be of the opinion that fathers being more involved is due to the fact that they are kids. I believe that they choose instead to decline the negative aspects of traditional masculinity and, in so doing, are better than if they had maintained those aspects. This may mean that they wear comfortable clothes rather than suffering in a suit and tie, or that they are more active (their children may see their fathers doing undignified activities like running when they could be walking), or that they change their kids' diapers or feed them rather than leaving those tasks to the womenfolk. All positive changes, in my opinion!
People shouldn't need a fear of death by starvation to motivate them. If a removal of this fear allows them to be better people, that's a good thing. If some people abuse the safety net, things would not be better if it were absent and they simply crashed.