I started thinking about this question at the beginning of the week, after reading an American piece of research about what ‘fertile women’ find attractive in a man.

I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about the study itself. I wanted to outline what I think makes a good dad.

1) Perhaps most importantly in the early stages of parenthood, dads are an essential form of emotional support for mums. Whether it’s a shoulder to cry on or some moral support when breastfeeding is proving a challenge, dads are often the ones who step up to the mark.

2) Modern-day dads are a lot better than they have been in the past. Although the amount of time they spend with their offspring hasn’t changed much, apparently dads make better use of this time.

3) Sticking with the modern-day fathers theme, biology is less of a factor when it comes to being a good father figure. Step dads are playing an increasingly important role in the lives of children.

4) Good dads are willing to fill mums’ shoes as primary carer. Research shows that dads are more likely to fill in for mum when they are working than any other person. Personally, this was the most reassuring statistic I read.

5) Good dads accompany mum on baby-care courses. More fathers tend to do this now than they used to anyway, probably because it’s more socially acceptable. Interestingly, dads who go on these courses apparently engage in more quality face-to-face interaction with newborns.

6) Babies make it easy to be a good dad. Not only do fathers feel as emotionally attached to their newborns, but some studies suggest babies actually tend to bond as easily with their dads as with mums in the first few months.

Thanks to the Fatherhood Institute for drawing my attention to all the research to back up my thought-splurge. They’ve lots of thought-provoking information on what makes a good dad.