60.1
million U.S. males age 15 and over were fathers in 1996. (3)
68 percent of
children in March 1998 were living with both their father and mother, compared
to 23 percent of children living only with their mother and slightly more
than 4 percent living only with their father. (9)
Single fathers:
The number of
single fathers grew 25 percent between 1995 and 1998, from 1.7 million
to 2.1 million, while the number of single mothers remained constant at
about 9.8 million. Consequently, men comprised 1 in 6 of the nation's 11.9
million single parents in 1998, up from 1 in 7 in 1995 and 1 in 10 in 1980.
(8)
The proportion
of children living with single fathers doubled from 2 percent in 1980 to
4 percent in 1999. (6)
Women
are much more likely to be single parents because women are awarded child
custody in 72 percent of all child custody
cases. Meanwhile, men are awarded child custody in 9 percent
of all custody cases and joint custody is awarded in 16 percent
of all custody cases. (2)
16 percent of
children living with single fathers also lived with their parents' partners.
(5)
The number of
children living with their only father as the parent has increased from
724,000 children in 1960 to about 2 million children in 1990. (7)
Just from 1990
to 1998, the number of children living with only their father increased
from about 2 million to 3.1 million. (7)
Of single fathers
raising their own children in 1998, 63 percent cared for only one child
under 18 and 11 percent cared for three or more children under 18. (3)
36 percent of
children cared by single fathers in March 1998 were under 6-years- old.
(9)
About 35 percent
of children cared by single fathers in March 1998 were 12- to 17-years-old,
compared to about three in 10 children being 6- to 11-years-old. (9)
About one in five
children cared by single fathers in March 1998 were between one- and two-years-old,
compared to 17 percent of children being 3- to 5-years-old. (9)
Socio-economic background of single fathers:
In 1998, a ratio
of 5 of every 6 (83 percent) of the nation's single fathers were white.
African Americans and Hispanics (who may be of any race) each comprised
about 13 percent of the total. (3)
The median income
of single father families is $29, 313. (3)
About 2 in 10
single father families were poor in 1997. (3)
77 percent of
single fathers had a high school diploma and 11 percent had a bachelor's
degree or higher. (3)
The typical single
father in 1998 was 38 years old; a ratio of 1 in 9 was under age 25; and
1 in 70 was 60 or older. (3)
Most of the nation's
single fathers (85 percent) maintained their own household in 1998. The
remainder lived in the home of a relative (12 percent) or a non-relative
(3 percent). (3)
In 1998, 44 percent
of single fathers were divorced, 35 percent had never married, 12 percent
were separated, about 5 percent were widowed and another 5 percent were
separated for reasons other than marital discord. (3)
55 percent of
single fathers who maintained their own households in 1998 had at least
one other adult in their home to help them out. (3)
Married fathers who provide child care:
Fathers not employed,
with a part-time job or working evening or night shifts were more likely
to take care of their preschoolers while their wives worked than those
employed, with a full-time job or working a day shift in 1993. (1)
Poor fathers were
almost twice as likely as non-poor fathers to care for their preschoolers,
43 percent and 24 percent, respectively in 1993. (1)
The greater the
number of preschoolers in the family, the more likely the father provided
care. Among families with only one preschooler, 23 percent of fathers were
care providers compared with 33 percent of fathers in families with two
or more preschoolers in 1993. (1)
Fathers working
in service occupations, such as police, firefighters and security personnel
were about twice as likely as those in any other occupation to be taking
care of their preschoolers in 1993. (1)
33 percent of
Northeastern fathers cared for their preschoolers, compared with 27 percent
in the Midwest and West and 18 percent in the South in 1993. (1)
30 percent of
veterans provided care, compared with 24 percent of non-veterans in 1993.
(1)
Married fathers as primary child care providers:
16.6 percent of
primary child care providers were fathers while mothers of preschool children
were working in fall 1995. (4)
Care by fathers
has varied between winter 1985 and fall 1995. Fathers were 15.7 percent
of care providers in winter 1985 and 15.1 percent of care providers in
fall 1988. The figure increased to 16.5 percent in fall 1990 and climbed
to 20 percent in fall 1991. But that figure bounced back to 15.9 percent
in fall 1993. (4)
Have fathers become less concerned about their children? No, says Lynne Casper, author of "My Daddy Takes Care of Me! Fathers as Care Providers," in a press release by the US Census Bureau.
"These declines were driven by changing economic conditions rather than fathers becoming less interested in taking part in their children's lives. In 1991, when we were in the midst of a recession, more fathers were unemployed or working part-time, meaning more were available to care for their children while the mother was at work. Also, in tough economic times, families tend to have less income and parents may have been more motivated to find a way for the father to provide care, saving the money they otherwise would have spent on a child-care provider." (1)
Married fathers in child care combinations:
Fathers also provided
care for preschool children in 68 percent of child care combinations, where
more than one person and an organized facility are used, in fall 1995.
(4)
23 percent of
child care combinations included the father and a non-relative providing
care in fall 1995. (4)
20 percent of
child care combinations included the father and a grandparent providing
care in fall 1995. (4)
18 percent of
child care combinations included the father and an organized facility providing
care in fall 1995. (4)
7 percent of child
care combinations included the father and another relative providing care
in fall 1995. (4)
Sources:
1- "Economic Conditions Can Influence Married Fathers' Caring for Preschoolers, Census Bureau Reports," U.S. Census, Oct. 8, 1997.
2- The National Center for Health Statistics- "Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics, 1989 and 1990." Statistical information is compiled from divorce certificates.
3- "Father's Day's, 2000: June 18," U.S. Census Bureau, June 5, 2000.
4- "Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements," U.S. Census Bureau, October 2000.
5- http://www.childstats.gov/ac2000/poptxt.asp
6- http://www.childstats.gov/ac2000/highlight.asp
7- Living Arrangements of Children Under 18 Years Old: 1960 to Present, U.S. Census Bureau, Jan. 7, 1999, http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/ms-la/tabch-1.txt.
8- "Growth in Single Fathers Outpaces Growth in Single Mothers, Census Bureau Reports," U.S. Census Bureau, Dec. 11, 1998.
9- "Marital Status and Living Arrangements: March
1998," U.S. Census Bureau, Jan. 7, 1999, http://www.census.gov/prod/99pubs/p20-514u.pdf.
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