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This chapter presents the issue of parenthood as a subject of sociological inquiry in the context of broader social and cultural changes. I demonstrate why parenthood should be perceived as a process that is strictly connected with social, cultural and institutional contexts. Keeping this in mind I argue that there is no one proper way of doing parenthood. The most important aspect here are the links between parenthood and paid work. I critically approach the concept of work/life balance that is vastly popular in contemporary social sciences, but in my opinion is not always adequate to describe parenting in a post-communist society. I propose to look at parenthood through the lenses of three types of work: care work, paid work and domestic work. I claim that such approach helps to grasp different ways of parenting in contemporary times, as well as to recognise persisting gender and economic inequalities.

The purpose of this article is to document how Swedish and Polish fathers understand their parental roles in the times of changing gender relations. An important question is how they deal with two conflicting models of fatherhood—the traditional model based on breadwinning and the new model of involved fatherhood. I argue here that fatherhood is a highly contextual phenomenon and the way men engage in parental roles is strictly connected with the social expectations and people’s assumptions about parenting and gender roles. The focus of this paper will be on the links between three elements: (1) the institutional context, in particular the family policy systems, (2) a conflict resulting from the coexistence of two different models of fatherhood, and (3) men’s parenting behaviour. The article consists of two parts. In the first one the family policy systems of Sweden and Poland are described. The second part is based on 52 in-depth interviews conducted with Swedish and Polish middleclass and heterosexual fathers. A thematic analysis revealed that the experience of fatherhood is firmly embedded in in a family policy system. Depending on the definitions of parental roles adopted by the welfare state, the particular mechanisms of family policy can sustain or reconstruct the models of fatherhood (and motherhood) and consequently have an impact on the gender inequalities.

Research indicates that the gender of a parent has a great impact on how s/he engages in parenting. The expectations towards men and women significantly differ and are strictly connected with dominating models of masculinity and femininity. They are also related to biological differences between men and women that often serve as a convenient explanation for the unequal power order. The article seeks to answer questions on how men in Sweden and Poland experience their parenting, taking into account the naturalised differences between fatherhood and motherhood, and how these differences affect power relations.

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The Palgrave Handbook of Family Sociology in Europe "Skillfully crafted around a diversity of concepts, theories, and methods, this handbook represents a wealth of knowledge on family change in twenty-first century Europe. It is a tribute to years of research, debate, and cross-country networking at the European Sociological Association and beyond. In thought-provoking and comprehensive contributions, European family sociologists invite us to explore the changing terrain of family and intimate lives in terms of relationships, proximity, gender, care, parenting, fertility, inequalities, migration, life course and family policy."

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The aim of this article is to analyse the possibilities and decisions made about procreation by Polish parents in the context of the family policy system. Fertility is here understood as a result of individual decisions originating from an assessment of people's situations and potential barriers in parenting. This issue is important because Polish society is facing a severe demographic crisis due to low fertility rates. In recent years, the family policy system has been substantially reformed, yet interviews with parents indicate that these reforms do not fully address the problems, which parents have to deal with in everyday life. According to their experiences, the Polish welfare state should focus more closely on the issues of gender inequality in the household, lack of stability in the labour market, low salaries, the high cost of child rearing, and the lack of suitable housing for Polish families. The analysis is based on in‐depth interviews with Polish parents of children aged 1–7 and statistics collected by Statistics Poland, the Social Insurance Institution, and the International Social Survey Program.