All The Single Daddies: More Men Than Ever Raising Families

single fathersSingle motherhood has been tinged with cultural scorn , stigma, and shame for about as long as anyone can remember. The very argument of partnered women uttering that they feel like single mothers is an affront to an entire cohort of women who literally do it all. But another sect of the parenting sphere is quickly catching up with them, as more fathers than ever are single and working the mommy track.

FINS reports that the number of single fathers has been on the incline, with new startling numbers:

While divorce rates have remained stable over the past 30 years, the number of single fathers living with their children has increased from 679,000 in 1982 to 2.23 million in 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Such men now make up 20% of single parents, up from 10% in 1960.

Twenty percent is pretty sizable, as single mothers have primarily held the monopoly over the term “single parent” for some time. Steadily, a new influx of men are now grappling with what some mothers have been encountering for decades, including relying on help from their parents, confronting financial insecurity, taking jobs that ensure work flexibility, and compromising on their career altogether for the sake of their kids.

Welcome to the club, fellas, and might we interest you in a mommy commune?

(photo: TsR/ Shutterstock)

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