“Fatherhood is a well-regarded theory, but motherhood is a fact,” misanthropic funnyman P.J. O’Rourke once wrote.
His intentions were clear: with regard to caregiving, mothers have long been first, dads are a distant second.
However, as new data from the first State of America’s Fathers report bears out, that notion is becoming a bit antiquated. Since you’re probably too busy figuring out what to get pop for his big day on Sunday to comb through the 140-page document, we’ve got four father figures that outline the state of being a dad in America.
1. 65%: On average, American fathers have increased the time they spend with their children during the workday by 65% over the past 30 years.
2. 40%: If a dad takes over that percentage or higher of caregiving responsibilities, there’s a positive correlation with a rise in a child’s test scores and cognitive achievement.
3. 34%: That’s the change between the percentage of men in 1977 who agreed fathers should earn money and women should take care of the home and family (74%), and the percentage of men who agreed with that notion when most recently surveyed (just 40%).
4. 25%: That’s the increase in the number of fathers who reported having work-life conflicts due to parenthood responsibilities in 2008 versus 1977. In this instance at least, a rise in conflict is a good thing.
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