Daddy snooze: More than half of fathers feign sleep to dodge child-rearing night duties

Most men say that children only call for their mother during the night

Some dads believe their partner is better in dealing with their crying child (REX)

More than half of exhausted fathers pretend to be asleep to dodge dealing with crying children during the night, a study has claimed.

The benefits of getting at least seven hours of sleep is all too well-known for dads who admit deceiving their families to get a full night of kip.

Out of 2,000 fathers polled, 56 per cent of them admit to faking it and almost half of them say they rely on their partners to get up and look after the children.

But instead of pure laziness or greed, one in 10 dads believe that their partners are better in dealing with messy or emotional situations, with one in five saying children only call for the mother.

For other men it depends on what demands their child is making, with a fifth revealing that they avoid waking up for night feeds, nightmares, teething problems, a lost dummy or bedwetting.

Nearly a third of fathers use the fact they have to go to work in the morning for a reason to stay huddled up under the duvet, but it is not known how many of the 47 per cent of mothers who get up in the night also have commitments outside of the home.

Despite the range of excuses available, 21 per cent of dads say they pretend to be asleep because they can't be bothered to get up, while more than a quarter are just too tired.

Just 14 per cent of men say it's a job normally left for them to take care of.

However, this one-sided effort hasn't gone unnoticed. Nearly half of parents say deciding who should be the one to get up has caused arguments and conflict between them and their partner.

Emma Kenny, child psychologist and spokesperson for DryNites, says that it is not uncommon for the subject to cause fights between couples.

She said: "It's important that both mums and dads share the responsibility if their child wakes up in the middle of the night."