Jean Le Camus is a psychologist, a university professor emeritus and a specialist in early childhood development. He is the author, among others, of Le Vrai rôle du père, Comment être père aujourd’hui and Le Père et l’enfant : A l’épreuve de la séparation.
Monique Eizenberg is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst.

What is a father? What is his purpose? How is his role similar to that of a mother? How is it different? How does he contribute to the child’s development?
Much has been said about the father’s role, as if it were not, against all expectations, obvious. This book, written by a psychologist specialising in the development of young children and a psychoanalyst, shows that the notion of fatherhood has been constructed very gradually over the course of history and has undergone major changes over the last few decades.
The role of the father has evolved and is still changing in nature, from the classic model of fatherhood, which opposes clearly defined early maternal and late paternal roles – the loving mother and the authoritative father –, to the almost revolutionary years, from 1975 to 2000, that called for the father’s presence in the child’s early life. These changes led to the notion of co-parenting and should help overcome the antimony of the “strict father” and the “doting father”.
This new model could be used as an operational strategy in the fields of research, family education and children’s clinics.
A panoramic approach that sheds light on how and why the father’s role has evolved, for the greater good of the child.