Happy Father’s Day

Father’s Day is celebrated in the United States on the third Sunday in June. Though it has become a recognized holiday, it was an uphill battle for dads to get the recognition that they deserve. The quest for a national holiday to celebrate the American father began in 1910 but it was not well accepted. Many felt that a holiday celebrating the contribution of fathers was inappropriate but Sonora Smart Dodd disagreed. One of six children being raised by a single dad, Dodd wanted her parent to get the same recognition that mothers enjoyed on Mother’s Day. For two decades, Dodd lobbied off and on for a National Father’s Day but it wasn’t until she joined forces with merchants looking for a boost in sales that she made any headway. Backed by the shopkeepers, she found the ear of some politicians and Father’s Day became official in 1966.

In 1910, the single father population was small in the United States. However, it has grown rapidly in the last few decades and now is 2.6 million strong. Though single fathers that are heads of household are still greatly outnumbered by their single mom counterparts, dads going it alone raising children now account for around 8% of the population and it is a much faster growing demographic than single mothers. Some experts explain the rise in numbers to the growing number of women in the workforce and the impact that number has on stay at home fathers. Others believe that it has more to do with births outside of matrimony and the willingness and ability of fathers to step up and raise a baby. Whatever the case, the new dad looks very different from fathers of past generations. Reports indicate that around 90% of dads that live with their children, bath them, change their clothes and, yes, do diaper duty on a daily basis. While diaper duty is lowest on the chore list for dads, more than half contend that it is a part of their regular routine, which is a drastic increase over their own father’s generation where only a little more than 30% change diapers. Fathers are blogging their experiences and becoming more involved in the daily activities of their children making the new father the new standard and giving the involved dad the recognition that Sonora Smart Dodd was looking for all those years ago.