Abuse stigma puts men off child care

Just three per cent of Britain's nannies are male. Now a new campaign is aiming to increase their number

A growing number of British men would like to work as nannies and childminders but fear they would be branded as paedophiles, according to a new study.

An overwhelming majority of parents and non-parents want more men to join the child care profession, research to be published this week shows. Only one in 10 parents said they would be unwilling to place their children with a male carer.

In the run-up to Fathers' Day, the Daycare Trust, the national childcare charity, is launching a campaign to get more men into the child care industry. Currently just 3 per cent are men.

Their campaign is supported by famous fathers, including TV presenter Chris Tarrant, PR guru Max Clifford, celebrity chef Antony Worrall Thompson, designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and schools watchdog David Bell.

It argues that a mixed-gender environment and positive male role models for children are the key benefits of men working in child care.

To launch the campaign, the Daycare Trust commissioned new research from MORI, which highlights the willingness of parents to trust their child to a man.

According to the survey, almost eight in 10 people are in favour of men working in child care, though opposition was apparent among older people - 19 per cent of over 55s thought it was a bad idea.

Seven in 10 people felt there should be a higher proportion of men working in child care. But since 1991, the figures have remained static. One in three men under 55 said they would consider a career in child care. But in fact few do.

Men blame their reluctance on several factors: the fear that they would meet hostility because of the risks of paedophiles working with children; a sense that parents wouldn't want their children looked after by a man; low pay; and embarrassment.

To coincide with the survey results and the National Childcare the Daycare Trust's report Men's Work, by Charlie Owen at the University of London argues for a national strategy to increase the number of men working in child care. The report calls for the issues of pay, image, training, recruitment and support to be addressed.

"Increasing the number of men working in child care is not easy," Mr Owen says. "It can disrupt strongly held views about masculinity and femininity. Challenging those views might make people uncomfortable."

'I get some funny looks, but I can take the criticism'.

Mick Godber from Clifton, Nottingham, has been a professional child carer since he gave up his job as a medical electronics engineer 15 years ago. He currently looks after 14 different children at different times during the week, as well as his teenage son and two teenage step-children.

"It's not exactly a macho job," admits Mr Godber, 39. "Things are getting a bit better now, but it's always been a female-dominated career, and that annoys me. As far as I'm concerned, we're all equal.

In fact, a lot of single mothers prefer male childcarers because they are looking for a male role model for their kid.