Fathers play an important role in their children’s lives, teaching them important lessons, shaping their values, and offering unconditional love and support. Children who have a close relationship with their father are generally less likely to misbehave, have greater cognitive capacity, and are more confident and emotionally secure. Fathers today recognize this and, due in part to mothers working at higher rates than in the past, are spending more time with their kids.
Here is a look at some recent studies and statistics that highlight the evolution of fatherhood during the last few decades.
Dads Spending More Time with Their Children
According to a study conducted by the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), dads in the United States spent an average of 7.8 hours each week caring for their kids at home. This figure, collected from an analysis of the American Time Use Survey 2021/22, is up 1 hour per week from 2003.
Many millennial men view being a good father as an important aspect of their self-identity, but unfortunately socioeconomic status is often a factor for time spent with their kids. The IFS study found that education level and marital status played an important role, with college-educated fathers spending an average of 10 hours and 12 minutes per week on child care and married fathers spending 8 hours per week. These figures were up by 2 and 1.2 hours per week, respectively, in the last two decades. Interestingly, fathers who didn’t attend college spent just 5.9 hours per week with their kids, down from 6.2 hours per week in 2003.
Similarly, college-educated fathers are more likely to read, feed, and play with their children. They spent an average of 4.2 hours each week doing these interactive activities, whereas dads without a college education spent just 2.6 hours per week. Ignoring all other attributes, fathers are far more likely to change diapers than they were 40 years ago. A 1982 study found that only about 60 percent of dads change diapers, compared to 97 percent today.
Percentage of Kids in Homes Without Fathers Declining
The share of kids living in homes without their fathers is also declining, although that is a relatively recent trend that is starting to reverse after peaking at 24.4 percent in 2012. It was 21.5 percent in 2022. Fewer than 15 percent of American children under 17 years old lived in a home without their father in 1970. National Center for Health Statistics data also highlights a decline in the percentage of fathers living apart from children, from 27 percent in 2006-08 to 23 percent in 2017-19.
Education level also has a major impact on the likelihood of a father living with his children. Twenty-seven percent of fathers who didn’t graduate from college live apart from their kids, compared to 10 percent of college-educated dads.
Differences in Involvement Based on a Child’s Age
Dads are more likely today to spend time playing with or providing physical care to their children than engaging in education-related activities, and that is even more pronounced when their children are 6 and under. In the American Time Use Survey, fathers with kids 17 and under spent 1.02 hours per day providing help and care, including 0.36 hours of playtime.
When only accounting for children 6 and under, fathers spent an average of 1.62 hours each day in play and care activities. They averaged 0.64 hours each day playing with those kids, compared to 0.15 for children between 6-12.
No Longer Just the Family Breadwinner
The increase in working mothers is one of the biggest contributing factors to fathers being more involved in their kids’ lives. In its analysis of Current Population Survey data, the Pew Research Center found that husbands were the sole or primary breadwinners in just 54 percent of opposite-sex marriages with one child. However, this increases to 57 percent when the couple has two children and 69 percent with four or more kids. About 85 percent of opposite-sex marriages in 1972 had a breadwinner husband.
There is also evidence that fathers want to spend more time at home taking care of their kids. There was a 70 percent increase in stay-at-home dads from 1989 to 2014, and four times as many dads now take paternity leave than in the 1990s.
Most mothers and fathers agree that their kids are better off when both parents contribute equally in work and child care, with 77 percent of adults agreeing with that notion in a January 2023 Pew Research Center survey.
Benefits of Having An Involved Father
Children can reap the cognitive benefits of having an involved father from as early as 5 months old, according to average scores on measures of cognitive development. Toddlers, meanwhile, exhibit enhanced problem-solving capabilities and school-aged children, on average, get better grades and are more motivated when both parents are equally involved in their lives.
Children also benefit in several other ways from having fathers who take on more active roles in their lives. They have lower rates of depression and substance use, are more independent, and have better relationships with other family members.
