Fathers’ time with children has increased almost threefold in the past 50 years, according to research on American fathers age 18 to 64 with children younger than 18 living in their homes. In 1965, fathers spent an average of 2.5 hours per week with their children, and by 2011, the average weekly time spent was 7.3 hours. The 2011 research showed that fathers spent half as much time as mothers did with their children. The difference typically was not by choice — almost half of the fathers wished they could spend more time with their children, compared with about one-fourth of mothers who reported feeling the same way.
More about fatherhood trends:
- There are more than 2 million fathers in the US raising their children without the assistance of a mother.
- One-fourth of all fathers report spending less than one hour per day with their children.
- About 40% of all children in divorce cases have been found to have not seen their fathers during the previous 12 months.