One third of fathers say they want to be house husbands. Women's Editor Christen Pears meets one man who can't think of anything rather do.

LOOKING after the children and the home has traditionally been women's work. Think of the 1950s housewife, immaculately dressed under her pinny, dinner on the table for her man coming home from work and two scrupulously clean, impeccably behaved children in tow.

But modern woman is not just a housewife. She often holds down a high-powered job and earns as much, if not more, than her partner. The number of working mothers has been rising constantly over the last 30 years and men are increasingly taking over the traditionally female role at home.

And far from being reluctant househusbands, some men are not only willing but actually desperate to stay at home with the kids. A recent survey by Pregnancy and Birth magazine revealed that, if money allowed, a third of men would like to be a full-time, stay-at-home dad, while a further third would rather go part-time after their baby was born.

Even Hollywood is cottoning on to the idea of men looking after the kids full-time. The movie Daddy Day Care, which stars Eddie Murphy and has just been released in the UK, is about two men who lose their jobs, are forced to become stay-at-home dads and are then inspired to open a day care centre with comedic results.

Elena Dalrymple, editor of Pregnancy and Birth magazine, says: "Men want to be fathers just as much as women want to be mothers. Modern dads pour their life and soul into fatherhood."

Martin Dunn gave up work to look after his three stepchildren, Charlie, nine, Saskia, eight, and Lucy, seven, as well as two-year-old Cameron. His wife, Jody, is a barrister in Middlesbrough.

Martin used to work in Halfords. "It was very easy and not the most exciting job. At the end of the day, it was just money in my back pocket. At the time Jody was paying a nanny almost as much as I was earning to look after the children. It just didn't make sense."

That was two-and-a-half years ago and Martin says he still loves staying at home in Gainford, near Darlington, and looking after the kids.

"It's fantastic, especially with Cameron. The other three older and are at school but I'm getting to see my son grow up. A lot of dads miss out on that because they're at work so much and I think a lot of them probably regret it."

A normal day starts at 7.30am when he wakes the three oldest children, gives them their breakfast, gets them ready for school and takes them to meet the bus. The rest of the day is spent with Cameron.

"We have great fun, playing with toys or in the garden. The idea is that I do the housework as well although I have to admit I don't do as much as I should because Cameron is awake all the time. I don't do a lot of dusting but I do all the washing and cleaning."

Martin is not alone. More than 110,000 British men are now househusbands, but although the old social stereotypes are being eroded, some men experience a loss of self-esteem. From an early age, they have had it drummed into them that they are the breadwinners. Even those who would like to spend more time with their families worry about what others will think.

Martin has had no such problems. "I didn't have a high-flying career. Because of the type of job I was doing, I was quite happy to give up work. I don't miss it all.

"I'm proud to do what I do. I don't know if I'm a new man. I've found something that I like to do and it's changed me."

The only problem he envisages is when Cameron goes to school. He certainly doesn't relish the prospect of returning to work, although he's not sure he can justify staying at home without a baby to look after.

"Jody asks me about it and I just keep telling her I'll do lots of gardening. There may be a time when I want to go back to work but I don't feel like that at the moment. To be honest, I don't know what I would do. I don't have a trade and I'm not sure I have the patience to learn one. What I do, I enjoy and I don't think there's anything wrong with that."

But while equality is increasing in the home, it does not extend to the law regarding an unmarried father's rights. Most parents do not realise that signing the birth certificate does not give an unmarried father any parental rights and they have no automatic legal say in their child's upbringing.

Elena says: "Modern dads should have the same or similar rights to mothers. Unfortunately, most unmarried dads are completely unaware they currently have no legal say in very important decisions about their child's upbringing and health. Yet from the moment their partner becomes pregnant, the vast majority of British men do everything they can to be part of the parenthood process. It's time to give all dads the recognition and legal status they deserve as committed parents."

It's a strong point, especially when you bear in mind that 98 per cent of dads-to-be think fatherhood will make them happy, and 90 per cent say fatherhood is their biggest life-changing event ever.

Encouragingly, they say their top fatherhood role model is their own father, followed closely by David Beckham and Jamie Oliver. Following his baby-dangling stunt, Michael Jackson was voted worst role model.