Spencer Morrison gets up each morning between 4:30 and 5 a.m. to tackle some academic research before his 29-month-old triplets rise at 6:30.

Bill Wade, Post-Gazette Spencer Morrison feeds Ethan, left Alaina and Garret. The Morrisons' pediatrician's office in Cranberry offers extended hours to make it convenient for dads to come to appointments. Click photo for larger image. Doctors to dads These are suggestions from the American Academy of Pediatrics on how doctors can reach out to dads: In addition to offering flexible and extended hours, pediatricians should encourage fathers to come in for at least one of the initial well-infant or acute-illness visits in the baby's first two months of life. Actively engage the father in conversation. Learn more about the parents' relationship and how they support each other in their roles and activities. Recognize that mothers and fathers may not always agree on how best to raise a child. In these discussions, pediatricians can serve as mediators.

Then it's a blur of breakfast and cleanup, playtime, trips to the grocery store or the local story hour, neighborhood walks, lunch, nap time and a start on dinner before his wife returns home from her teaching job.

In between, he's tending to ear infections and squeezing in mini lessons on their colors and numbers. And two are in the throes of toilet training. "My little girl is potty training. She's very independent," he says with a bemused laugh.

In the same breath, he adds, "But I'm very lucky to have the opportunity to spend time with them."

Morrison, of Cranberry, who's taken a one-year educational sabbatical from his job as a middle school social studies teacher to care for Garret, Ethan and Alaina (his wife, Nicole, took off last year), could be upheld as the ideal involved father of the 21st century.

Not all dads have the job flexibility to make such a commitment, but research is showing that even more limited participation by fathers can benefit children in a variety of ways -- from having a stronger sense of social competence to achieving higher academic performance. And the more they're involved, the greater the strides.

Now the American Academy of Pediatrics is calling upon doctors to do more to enhance men's roles in their children's care.

A report released yesterday in the monthly journal Pediatrics urges practices to set flexible and extended hours on nights and weekends so fathers (or grandfathers, uncles, the coparent in a gay relationship or any other father figure) can accompany children to appointments, as well as to do more to engage dads in even minor child-rearing decisions.

"In an ideal world, I'd love to have both parents coming," said Dr. Craig Garfield, a pediatrician and researcher at the Evanston Northwestern Health Care Research Institute in Illinois and one of the authors of the report. "These are the key players in the child's development. We should have both of them there, talking together, assessing how the child is doing."

Expanding roles

Over the past 30 years, the father's role has grown from the traditional wage earner to, in many circumstances, the stay-at-home dad. The average amount of time that fathers in two-parent families spend with their children, directly engaged or accessible, has increased in the past decade to 2.5 hours per weekday and 6.3 hours per weekend. And father-only households (no wife or partner) increased to 4.3 million households by 2000.

Bill Wade, Post-Gazette His own father's involvement with him inspired Spencer Morrison's vision of what kind of father he wanted to be.

While parents tend to exert similar influences over their children's values, competence in social interactions, academic achievement and mental health, fathers' involvement is different than mothers'. Dads tend to spend more time playing with their children than do moms, according to the report. With young children, fathers engage in more physical and stimulating activities; with middle-schoolers, they're involved more with recreational activities and private talks. Dads also have a strong influence on their children's gender identity development and are important role models for both girls and boys.

Garfield often sees dads come to newborns' first or second wellness visits, then not return. "Why isn't he coming? Are we looking him in the eye and getting the message out?"

Dr. J.J. LaBella, the Morrisons' pediatrician at Children's Community Pediatrics-Bass Wolfson in Cranberry, said his office generally sees three types of dads: a third are highly involved with their children, attending most if not all office visits; a third visit when it is convenient in their work schedule or to back up mom; and a third may travel a lot or not see the pediatrician visit as a high priority.

"At least half of the dads, if they knew we wanted them here or if we continued to make appointment times convenient, they'd take advantage of it," he said.

The 45-year-old practice, founded on the importance of family involvement, does have evening and weekend hours at its Cranberry and Squirrel Hill offices to accommodate working parents. Doctors also urge both parents to attend prenatal consultations to learn about the practice and talk about expectations and concerns. "If we could get more families in before the baby is born, they'd be better educated, better informed."

Involving both parents in office discussions on how to handle toilet training, discipline, pediatric obesity, sleep disturbances or other behavioral issues is critical in developing consistent philosophies that can be followed at home, LaBella said. "We can help the family get through this."

Garfield said many of the recommendations involve a change in attitude and perception. Even with single moms, he said, the father is often present at the time of birth. "In that magic moment of birth, a lot of these men are reassessing and reprioritizing their lives. Pediatricians can take advantage of that more."

At the Morrison home, the parents faced an added challenge because the triplets were born premature. Two recently completed special occupational and speech therapy to overcome developmental delays.

Their dad's participation, no doubt, has been invaluable in the children's progress.

Morrison's own father was his role model. Around shift work at the steel mill, his father found time to help coach his sports teams and take the kids to ball games. That commitment left a lasting impression.

"My family is very important," Morrison said. "I want to be there for them."