Men and motors? Fathers' involvement in children's travel

Whilst there is a growing body of literature considering the different settings in which young children spend their time, less explored is how children travel to and from the different everyday spaces of childhood. Although research on gendered carescapes has identified the central role of mothers in caring for and escorting children, as well as the changing role of fathers, little attention has been paid to the role of and expectations from fathers in relation to undertaking these escorting tasks. Drawing upon research conducted in the UK with young children and their families, this paper contributes to existing debates by exploring the role of fathers in escorting children to a variety of settings, considering how fathers may have diverse experiences of escorting. It also explores how cars play a particularly important role in fathers' escort of children, and how fathers' involvement may create particular masculine styles of caring which are distinctive from those children experience with mothers.