Fathers should have the same access to NHS parenting classes and the same right to flexible working hours as mothers, a hard-hitting report has said.
The MSPs behind the findings claim fathers are being "discouraged from attending pre- and post-natal classes and support groups".
Holyrood's Equal Opportunities Committee said it was also concerned about an imbalance in parental leave and access to flexible working for fathers.
It has challenged the idea that "parenting in solely a mother's job" in a report on fathers and parenting that found that fathers were being marginalised.
The committee has taken evidence from fathers from different backgrounds who believe their involvement in child-rearing should be the norm.
While the committee commends the Scottish Government for taking steps to address the lack of imagery of fathers in its literature and guidance, it said more could be done.
Convener Margaret McCulloch said: "We heard from so many fathers who wanted to take an active part in their children's lives but who felt marginalised by society right at the start of their role in being discouraged from attending pre- and post-natal classes and support groups.
"Yet we know that by engaging fathers early, they stay involved with their child, even if the parents separate, Equally, we were not surprised to hear that the same childcare and flexible working issues keeping women from actively participating in the workplace also keep fathers from parenting.
"We are concerned by this imbalance in parental leave and access to flexible working for fathers. These issues must be addressed if we are to improve outcomes for children and parents' right across Scotland."
The committee has also called on the Scottish Government to issue good-practice guidance on including new fathers in written publications, and to promote policies "that are not perceived by fathers as tokenistic".
It said the Government should also support the creation of groups to help single fathers and fathers in rural areas, and help existing groups to grow.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article