When it comes to parenting, Chinese fathers say the most important role they play is that of the family chauffeur.
在养育子女的问题上,中国父亲说他们扮演的最重要的角色是家庭司机。
In a survey of 500 Chinese fathers released earlier this week by communications company JWT, respondents ranked driving their children to extracurricular activities and to school first and second, respectively, as the childcare responsibilities they most viewed as the responsibility of the male in the family. More than two-thirds of Chinese fathers surveyed said they saw these tasks as their responsibilities, not their wives'.
传媒公司智威汤逊(JWT)本周早些时候发布了一项对500位中国父亲的调查,在被问到家庭育儿方面男性最重要的责任时,受访者分别将开车送孩子参加课外活动和开车送孩子上学排在前两位。超过三分之二的受访中国父亲说,他们认为这些责任是自己应该承担的,而不是妻子应该承担的。
Fathers ranked handling doctor visits, disciplining children and helping with homework third through fifth on the list of daddy jobs.
在父亲的责任中,排在第三到第五位的分别是带孩子看医生、管教孩子和辅导功课。
Chinese men view parenting differently from their American counterparts. In a similar survey completed in the U.S. earlier this year, more than 80% of American fathers said discipline was their top role, with homework help ranking second.
中国男性对养育子女的看法与美国男性不同。在美国今年早些时候完成的一项类似调查中,有超过80%的美国父亲说管教孩子是他们的首要任务,排在第二位的是辅导功课。
Zhang Xiaoyan, a housewife in Shanghai, complained that driving the children is the only task her husband does at home. Men are under greater stress to support the family by working long hours, so they want 'easy' tasks that don't involve a lot of thinking, she said.
上海的一位家庭主妇张晓燕(音)抱怨说,开车接送孩子是她丈夫在家做的唯一一件事。她说,男性面临更大的压力,他们需要加班加点的工作来支撑整个家,所以他们希望在家能做一些不用太费脑子的“简单”任务。
Since those long hours prevent many fathers from spending much time with their children, they don't want to be the one to scold them for not doing their homework, she added.
她还说,工作时间长使很多父亲没有太多的时间与孩子相处,他们不希望自己是那个因孩子没有做作业而训斥他们的人。
'They want to make up for not being there most of the time, and they want to be the good cop,' Ms. Zhang said. 'So moms are always the bad cop, which is fine because kids have a stronger bonding with us.'
张晓燕说,他们希望弥补自己在孩子成长过程中的大部分时间无法伴其左右的遗憾,他们希望作好警察。所以妈妈们总是充当坏警察,这没什么,因为孩子与我们的关系更亲密。
The survey showed that this generation of dads think they're more involved with parenting than previous generations, though there are still some chores they won't touch. Less than one-fifth of Chinese fathers said they viewed changing diapers and making lunches as their job.
这项调查显示,这一代的爸爸们认为他们比过去的爸爸更多地参与到养育子女的过程中,但仍有一些家庭杂务是他们不会碰的。只有不到五分之一的中国父亲说,他们认为换尿布和做饭是自己该做的。
Kids have long been an obsession in China, but the chatter about family has increased this past week after the government that it would ease restrictions on its longstanding policy of restricting most families to having just one child.
在中国,孩子一直是一个备受关注的问题,但过去一周,随着政府宣布将放宽实施已久的独生子女政策,围绕家庭的讨论增多。
Fathers' roles have also been featured in the media limelight in recent weeks after a reality show called 'Where Are We Going, Dad?' became a hit last month on Chinese television and the online video site Tudou.
近几周,父亲的角色问题也成为媒体关注的焦点话题。此前在上个月,一档名为《爸爸去哪儿》的真人秀节目成为中国电视台和在线视频网站土豆网上的热门节目。
The show, which is an adaptation of a Korean reality series of the same name, takes five celebrity dads and their young kids to the countryside where the father-son duos compete against one another in various tasks.
这档节目改编自韩国一档同名真人秀节目。在节目中,五位名人爸爸和他们的孩子被带到农村,每对父子(女)要与其他父子(女)组合比赛完成各种任务。
Many Chinese moms, like Ms. Zhang, have encouraged their husbands to watch the show, hoping it will inspire them to be more active in parenting duties.
很多中国妈妈像张晓燕一样,鼓励丈夫观看这个节目,希望它会给他们启发,使其更积极地参与到养育子女的任务中。
Delia Liu, head of strategic planning at JWT, said the survey showed men are getting more involved with child-rearing and responsibilities at home.
智威汤逊战略策划负责人刘松(Delia Liu)说,这项调查显示,男性们正在更多地参与到抚养子女和家庭责任中。
'The old perception that 'men work outside; women take care of the home inside' has now changed,' she said, pointing to the increased participation of women in the workforce and their rising incomes. She added that 90% of Chinese men in the survey said they thought the Chinese corporate worldwasn't accommodating enough to fathers and their families.
她说,“男主外、女主内”的老观念现在发生了变化。她指出女性对职场的参与度上升,收入不断增加。她还说,有90%的受访中国男性说,他们认为中国企业界对父亲和他们的家庭没有提供足够的便利。
'That's changing how couples relate to each other and divide the workload at home. More men are pitching in with chores and with the kids, ' she said.
她说,这正在改变夫妻关系和家庭责任的分配。更多男性开始参与到家庭杂务和养育子女中来。