The use of parental leave by fathers in Australia is very low by global standards. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) show that just one in 20 fathers take primary parental leave, with 95% of all primary carers leave taken by mothers (ABS, 2017).
Fatherlessness is a growing problem in Australia and the Western world. Whether caused by divorce and broken families, or by deliberate single parenting, more and more children grow up without fathers. Indeed, 85 per cent of single parent families are fatherless families.
Drawing on the ABS Labour Force Survey, we estimate that there were 75,000 stay-at-home-father families in June 2016. This represented 4% of two-parent families, suggesting little change over the previous five years.
Parenting Statistics: 7% of dads and 28% of moms stay at home full-time. 57% of dads and 58% of moms say that parenting is extremely important to their identity. 54% of dads and 52% of moms report that parenting is rewarding all of the time.
The data shows that one in nine full-time stay-at-home parents are fathers, up from one in 14 in 2019. Between July and September 2022, 141,000 dads did not have a paid job and stayed at home, compared with 105,000 fathers during the same period in 2019.
An estimated 24.7 million children (33%) live absent their biological father.
There is certainly a trend of fatherhood becoming a delayed life stage, with the average age of a new father now 33.1 years of age! The Northern Territory and Tasmania are home to our nation's youngest dads, with the median age of fathers at 31.5 and 31.7 years respectively at the child's birth.
And though it's difficult at times, dads who stay at home often report greater levels of fulfillment and personal satisfaction, not to mention stronger relationships with their partner. Let's dive into the research a bit and talk about why being a stay-at-home dad is meaningful work.
While there are a lot of factors involved, the average age when people move out of their parent's home is somewhere between 24 and 27. This makes logical sense – it's after many people have completed college and around the time when most people get married and/or are in a long-term relationship.
Stay-at-home dads like Lange are becoming more common. In the US, for example, the number nearly doubled from 1989 to 2012. But they're still relatively unusual.
The average age young people leave home in Australia is 23 for men, and 24 for women. Sara, 27, was a few years beyond the national average when she decided to move out last December.
You're not alone – single parenting statistics
In June 2021 in Australia, the Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported: One in 7 families were one parent families (15% or 1.1 million). 79.8% of these were single mother families.
Figures show the average age for men to leave was about 24 in 2019, up from closer to 23 almost two decades ago. For women, the average age to leave in 2019 was after they reached 23, compared to closer to 22 in 2002.
Australian dads are among the oldest in the world, and we're not getting any younger. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics' data on registered births in 2020, the median age of fathers is 33.6 years, rising from 28.5 years in 1975, when data was first collated.
Most paternity test labs report that about 1/3 of their paternity tests have a 'negative' result. Of all the possible fathers who take a paternity test, about 32% are not the biological father. But remember, this is 1/3 of men who have a reason to take a paternity test - not 1/3 of all men. That is a huge difference!
Mortality (fatherless children are more likely to die as children, and live an average of four years less over the life span)
The share of adults ages 25 to 34 who lived with their parents reached historic highs in 2020, Census figures show: 22 percent of men and 13.4 percent of women. The numbers have retreated since then, but not far. In 2022, 19 percent of men and 12 percent of women in the 25-34 demographic cohabit with their parents.
Today, 63% of single adults between the ages of 20 and 29 live with their parents, as do just over half of 25- to 29-year-olds.
"The question is not how old is too old to stay at the parental home, but what that signifies for the young person's functioning," he told me. Basically, the idea is that you can live at home as an adult and it can be healthy, or it can be a result of your parents accommodating a dysfunctional mindset.
Through the stress of becoming a father, the lack of a support group, and the insecurities about being the father they dreamed of being, the father begins to think of leaving as an option.
Children who have a parent who stays at home may achieve better academic performance. One study found that 10th-grade children who had a parent stay at home when they were young achieved better grades in school than those who had working parents working away from home during early childhood.
Mothers are also more likely than fathers to say being a parent is tiring (47% vs. 34%) and stressful (33% vs. 24%) all or most of the time. Still, large majorities of moms – and dads – say they find parenting to be enjoyable and rewarding (shares ranging from 79% to 83% say this is the case all or most of the time).
A common rule of thumb is to have at least three months and ideally six months worth of living expenses in your savings at a minimum. This is to ensure you can manage if you were to suddenly be out of a job, if a health problem emerges or a change in personal circumstances occurs.
Around 80 percent of parents use an 'authoritative' parenting style, according to new research.
Finally, you can comfort yourself with the fact that, while male fertility may gradually decline through the years, some men will still be able to father a healthy child well into their 50s and beyond.