Baba: Men and Fatherhood in South Africa provides answers to some of the most difficult questions about fatherhood in South Africa: who is a father? What does it mean to be a father? Is it important for fathers to do more for children in a world that assumes that mothers take the primary parenting role? Do different people understand fatherhood in different ways? What evidence is there of new fatherhood styles emerging in South Africa? Authors from a range of backgrounds and disciplines break new ground as they explore the centrality of fatherhood in the lives of men and in the experiences of children. They show how fathers' involvement contributes to the wellbeing of children. The authors argue that men can make a major contribution to the health of South African society, by caring for children and producing a new generation of South Africans for whom men will be significant by their positive presence, rather than by their absence or their abuse.