Intensive Fathering: A Qualitative Study on Fathers’ Perspectives

Intensive parenting has become a dominant cultural framework shaping expectations of good parenting, yet research has largely centered on mothers. Guided by symbolic interactionism and identity theory, we explored fathers’ meaning-making within intensive parenting standards. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 partnered fathers of preschool-aged children (ages 3–5). Reflexive thematic analysis revealed two central themes. First, fathers emphasized relational connection, framing emotional availability, presence, and repair as core components of fathering work. Second, fathers described responsibility for actively fostering development through enrichment and intentional exposure to challenge. Fathers reported sustained emotional and cognitive labor in child-centered, day-to-day parenting and tension between child-centered standards and personal wellbeing and romantic relationship maintenance. Findings indicate that intensive parenting standards increasingly shape paternal practices and identities and suggest a broadening of intensive parenting to include cultivation of children’s social-emotional development and resilience. Implications for families are discussed.