More fathers are becoming the primary caregiver

Al said goodbye to his daughters every night before he drove to work. He’d hand off childcare to his wife when she returned home from work and start his commute during dinnertime. Al, a Connecticut-based media professional who spoke to Fast Company under a pseudonym, worked from 6:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. He’d go to sleep at 3:00 a.m., wake at 7:00 a.m., and get his daughters to school. Another two-hour block of sleep during the day followed by housework, afterschool childcare, then back to the office. He’s since been laid off, but all that’s changed is the amount of time he gets to spend with his girls each night. While women are still doing the bulk of childcare, the amount that men are taking on has risen steadily. In 1965, fathers spent two and a half hours a week with their children. In 2024, fathers spent an average of nine hours a week on childcare. Meanwhile, the number of fathers who don’t work because they are the primary parent or take care of the home has risen from 4% in 1989 to 23% in 2021. Furthermore, 11% of fathers who work full-time consider themselves primary caregivers (compared to 37% of mothers). There are several types of arrangements. Some fathers may work nights like Al, be lightly employed and shift in and out of the labor force, or work a full day in between their duties at home. They might be doing school runs and laundry between Zoom meetings, juggling freelance deadlines with playground trips, and applying to jobs during naptime. They doomscroll LinkedIn while feeding ducks at the park, or build investor decks from the sidelines of a soccer game. Some fell into the role while others were pushed, be it due to layoffs, freelance flexibility, working off-hours, or simply because their family needed them. Each of these fathers fit the definition of a stay-at-home dad, even though few would call themselves that. Stay-at-home economics Some of these fathers have fallen into this role because they work less than their wives. Men are falling out