Why more dads are staying home
While it s unclear how many men have made the transition to full-time parenthood during the pandemic, the long-term trend shows a rise of stay-at-home fathers, though they are still a minority. In 2016, dads made up 17% of all stay-at-home parents in the U.S., up from 10% in 1989, according to Pew Research Center.
Over the last 50 years, dads as a group became much more active parents. In 2016, dads overall reported spending an average of eight hours a week on child care, about triple the time they spent in 1965. And fathers reported putting in about 10 hours a week on household chores, up from four hours in 1965. By comparison, mothers in 2016 spent an average of about 14 hours a week on child care and 18 hours a week on housework.