🌍 Changing Dads around the world

The world tour at a glance

• 🌍 Central Africa: Aka dads, undisputed champions of physical closeness.
• 🇸🇪 Sweden: 'Latte pappas', where looking after your child is simply everyday life, not a heroic feat.
• 🇯🇵 Japan: 'Ikumen', where hands-on fatherhood has become genuinely cool.
• 🇳🇿 New Zealand: Maori whānau, where the entire tribe raises the child.
• 🌎 Latin America: 'Paternidad activa', tenderness taking on machismo.

What each culture can teach you

1. 1. Aka dads (Congo Basin): baby always within arm's reach

   Among this hunter-gatherer community, anthropologist Barry Hewlett observed that fathers spend nearly half their time holding their baby or staying right beside them. He even documented dads offering their own nipple to soothe a crying baby while the mother is out hunting. The takeaway for you: unlimited skin-to-skin contact, and the total confidence that you can comfort your baby just as well as mum can.

2. 2. Swedish 'latte pappas': the end of the superhero dad

   In Sweden, parents share 480 days of parental leave, and a dad taking several months off is completely routine. In the middle of the working week, you will spot groups of dads grabbing a coffee whilst pushing their prams. Over there, looking after your child is not 'helping out' mum or earning a medal: it is just normal life. The takeaway for you: ask your employer for your time off without feeling awkward, and get out solo with baby to the park or a cafe.

3. 3. Japanese 'ikumen': being an active dad is cool

   In the land of the 'salaryman', where dads practically live at the office, the government launched the Ikumen campaign, a pun combining ikuji (childcare) and ikemen (handsome guy). Campaigns and meet-up groups encourage men to get stuck in right from birth. The takeaway for you: you can break the mould of your own upbringing and proudly own your role as a dad, even in a very traditional workplace.

4. 4. Maori whānau (New Zealand): one child, an entire tribe

   Among the Maori, whānau is the extended family: aunties, uncles, grandparents, and close friends. A baby is not brought up by just two isolated parents, but by the whole collective. Dads also step up to look after other children around them and lean heavily on the group. The takeaway for you: call on your family and mates so you and your partner can catch a breath, and be that trusted adult for the kids in your circle too.

5. 5. 'Paternidad activa' (Colombia, Mexico): affection with zero shame

   Across Latin America, grassroots groups are pushing back against the macho stereotype: the stoic bloke who shows no emotion and just brings home the bacon. Their message: an active father is someone who shows how he feels and showers his kids with cuddles. The takeaway for you: put the armour away. Your tenderness and ability to talk about emotions make a massive difference in your child's life.

6. 6. The dad hack

   Create your own bespoke blend: carry your baby in a sling like an Aka dad, sort out your working hours like a Swede, embrace your sensitive side like a Latino dad, and lean on your mates the whānau way. The best kind of fatherhood is the one you invent with your partner, not the one society sold you.

Classic mistakes

• ❌ Thinking your own model is the only way The dad working all hours while mum handles the home is just one way of doing things. Around the globe, millions of dads do things completely differently, and everyone thrives.
• ❌ Trying to copy everything all at once You do not need to turn into an Aka dad overnight. Take one idea, give it a go, and keep whatever actually works for your family.

Read next

• 🧣 Babywearing: getting the ergonomic carry right
• 🫂 Dad skin-to-skin and your complementary role to mum
• 🧔 Finding your place as a dad, cliché-free