Dads Believe They Still Come Second Place to Mums Research Finds

Dads are feeling left out of sales and marketing campaigns, according to the results of a new survey by Hippychick.

The South West based nursery accessories company found that 80 per cent of dads feel left out because baby brands target mothers so hard with their advertising.

A 40 per cent of dads also felt that baby product businesses would be more likely to take on a product created by a mum rather than a dad.

Hippychick Founder, Julia Minchin said: “We are reliant on product innovation in order to keep ahead of the game in a very competitive marketplace. We already recognise that dads, because they take on so much of the parenting role, are equally capable of developing parenting innovations as mums. One of our ranges is My Buggy Buddy. It is the brainchild of two fathers, both of whom are ex-police offers and who spent many years on the front line in the Met Police. Having witnessed on several occasions how easy it is for thieves to make off with a buggy, it was this that precipitated their ‘lightbulb moment’ – a simple combination lock which is universally affordable, effective and now one of Hippychick’s best sellers.”

The findings come from research conducted through The Dad Network, an organisation aiming to improve the perception of the roles fathers play in their children’s lives.

A 64 per cent majority said that when it comes to parenting and a work life balance, dads were still getting a raw deal. Just 13 per cent were happy with the way they managed to juggle spending time with their family around work commitments.

Founder of the Dad Network, Al Ferguson said: “It’s no secret that dads struggle immensely with the work-life balance and many dads long to spend more time with their children and despite the recent shocking statistics of Shared Parental Leave, many dads are trying to find ways of doing so. The parental market place is saturated with mums, so these stats come as no surprise, but it does beg the question, when are dads going to recognised as they should.”