After months of antenatal classes and nursery decorating, not to mention years of looking forward to being a father, Luke Harris jumped at the chance of extended parental leave.

The new father took three weeks off from his role as co-chief executive at Harris Farm Markets when Ivy, now 10 months old, was born.

Time to bond: Luke Harris wishes he could have taken more than three week's paternity leave. Credit:Jacky Ghossein

''It's hard to describe how good it was. It helped me get an understanding of how much is involved in bringing up a little baby,'' he said. ''You understand what your wife's going through. It's much harder than work - and you have to be far more prepared, much more planned and much more flexible too, all at the same time.''

Mr Harris, 38, who lives in North Bondi, is one of a growing number of men who, by choosing to take a long period of parental leave, is more likely to engage regularly in early child-caring tasks such as feeding, bathing and reading bedtime stories, according to a study.