soyllennial fathers are spending more time with their kids than ever

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For a long time, many fathers were expected to provide financially while staying somewhat distant from the day-to-day realities of raising children. But that version of fatherhood has been steadily disappearing. I see a growing number of Millennial dads are far more involved at home than previous generations ever were, and new data shows the shift is reshaping everything from work-life balance to how many men experience purpose, stress, and family life itself.

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In 1965, the typical married father barely spent half an hour each day actively engaged in childcare, according to the best time-use data we have1. Today, Millennial thirty-something dads typically spend more than 80 daily minutes changing diapers, reading and playing with their children, driving them to soccer practice, and going over homework. To make time for kids, modern fathers have reduced their daily office work by more than an hour—not to mention, cut down their TV time by 30 minutes—as they pour more of their waking life into being at home.

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For those familiar with the parenting norms of the 20th century, the rise in childcare might seem like a violation of tradition, as if we are moving away from the natural state of fatherhood. But as the psychologist Darby Saxbe writes in her forthcoming book Dad Brain, the role of fathers has always varied significantly around the world, much more than the role of mothers. In African tribes that require men to do lots of hunting, dads often play a small role in the lives of their kids. But barely a few hours’ drive away from these tribes, one can find hunter-gatherer societies, like the Aka community in the Congo, where fathers are constantly around their children.

The working-husband-and-housewife norm is not a biological inscription in our genes. It is an invention of the Industrial Revolution. And it is disappearing around the world. In addition to the U.S., fathers’ childcare time is surging in Canada, across Europe, and in other rich countries, such as Japan.

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