Summarized are findings from an investigation of Swedish parents, who were studied to discover barriers to fathers taking time off from work to care for a newborn. Discussion focuses on: (1) fathers' participation in parental leave; (2) parents who take leave, and why; (3) barriers to fathers' participation in parental leave; (4) the potential of social policy for effecting sex-role changes; and (5) prospects for the future. In summary, the Swedish experience suggests that traditional exclusion of men from child care is highly resistant to change. Policymakers can give men opportunities to participate more in child care from the very beginning of their child's life, but many will not take advantage of such opportunities. While some structural obstacles to leave-taking appear to exist in the form of inflexible jobs, intolerant employers, and restrictions on income compensation, adherence to traditional sex-role attitudes seems to be an even more important reason why mothers remain responsible for child care in Sweden. Clearly, it is not just men who are content with the status quo, but women too are still most comfortable with a situation in which they are the ones primarily responsible for child care. The sexual division of labor is likely to persist in post-industrial societies for some time to come. (RH)