Daily Dad News

Stay-At-Home Dads Numbers Increasing According To Census Report

January 12, 2011 

As traditional roles of parenting continue to trend towards a shift in men staying home with their children, recent data supports news that dads are becoming integral in the rearing of their children while their wives and partners take on the financial burden by entering the workplace.

A United State Census Bureau report showed that one-third of dads with working wives are staying home with their children younger than 15 years of age. The Census also states that 160,000 dads are staying at home, with several factors such as joblessness, day care expenses and a still struggling economy all contributing to the rise in dads staying home to raise children.

Northwest Arkansas CBS affiliate KFSM ran a story about the rising numbers, profiling stay-at-home dad Derrick Bobbitt who relishes his role in caring for he and his wife’s three daughters. “I think it would be easier if I did 40 hours at a job,” said Bobbitt. “It would be easier on me, less stressful because this is an 80 hour week.”

Finances led the Bobbitts to decide that Derrick should become a stay-at-home dad while his wife, Susan Averitt-Bobbitt, continued her work as a pediatrician. “She was going to make a little more money than I was and I said well you know what I know how important it is for someone to stay home and I will do that,” said Mr. Bobbitt.

Mrs. Averitt-Bobbitt showered her husband with glowing words during the news piece. “A lot of times people would ask me is your husband a doctor too and I'll say ‘no he's a stay at home dad.’ Or people will ask me how do you do it you got three kids, you work full time and I say 'well I got a Derek’,” she shared.

Mr. Bobbitt has fondly taken to his job as a stay-at-home dad with no regrets. “When they grow up and leave and move out of the house I would look back and say you know what that was a special, it was a wild ride but I loved every minute of it,” he said.

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