Abstract
This study investigated father involvement with their babies and the child care center during the first six months after the baby entered in the day care center. It was performed a collective case study, with a longitudinal design, in which four fathers answered an interview at three moments: entry in the child care center, one month and six months later. Qualitative content analysis indicated that the day care center and the baby's development helped the father to be more involved with his work and his personal life. The present study shows the importance of taking into consideration the needs and capacity of fathers involved in infant care.
Keywords:
father involvement; father child relations; parental role; fathers; child day care