This year, give dad what he really wants – time with the family.

A study called The New Dad from Converge International and Boston College Centre for Work and Family says Australian dads are looking to shift roles from the traditional breadwinner into that of a more involved parent.

Job security is important to dads but employment with flexible arrangements that could allow them to spend more time with the kids has outranked the desire for a high income.

“Men do feel that there is a significant gap between what they are doing in terms of caregiving and what they would like to be doing,” the report said.

“Our study confirms what past research has suggested: balancing work and family is not just a ‘woman’s issue’.”

About 80 per cent of dads who participated in the study said their children were their number one priority.

Almost 83 per cent said the would consider the impact a new job would have on their ability to care for their kids before taking it.

Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed 46 per cent of dads with kids aged up to 17 years volunteered to help an organisation, particularly sporting groups, 39 per cent doing so weekly.

Pitching in around the home, helping with the everyday tasks of parenting was rated as very or extremely important by 68 per cent of dads and more than 84 per cent believed it was very important to be involved and present in their child’s life.

So this year zip up your wallets and give your father what he really wants: the time to be a dad.