NRFC 

Quick Statistics 

National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse  101 Lake Forest Boulevard, Suite 360  Gaithersburg, MD 20877 

 Toll-free: 1 (877) 4DAD411  Fax: (301) 948-4325  www.fatherhood.gov  March 2008 

 

Father Involvement

Frequency of Involvement in Activities with Children in the Last Four Weeks for Resident 

Fathers Ages 15-44 with Children Ages 5-18, by Activity, 2002

Activity 

Number of 

Men 

(000s) Not at all 

Less than 

once a 

week – 

About 

once a 

week 

Several 

times a 

week Every day 

Shared a meal with their children 18,251 1.9% 3.8% 22.8% 71.6% 

Helped their children with 

homework or checked that they 

did homework 18,251 18.2% 24.3% 28.8% 28.7% 

Talked to their children about 

things that happened during the 

day 18,251 2.5% 10.4% 23.6% 63.6% 

Took their children to or from 

activities 18,251 19.4% 26.9% 34.9% 18.8% 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. 

National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(26). 2006. 

• The majority of resident fathers eat (71.6 percent) and talk (63.6 percent) with their 

children on a daily basis. 

• Resident fathers are less likely to be involved in helping with homework or taking 

children to and from activities. In 2002, fewer than one in five resident fathers (18.8 

percent) reported taking their children to and from activities on a daily basis and fewer 

than one in three (28.7 percent) reported helping with homework or checking that their 

children completed homework every day. 
 

1 (877)4DAD411 Page 2 of 6 www.fatherhood.gov

NRFC Quick Statistics 

Father Involvement 

Frequency of Involvement in Activities with Children in the Last Four Weeks for Resident 

Fathers Ages 15-44 with Children Under 5 Years Old, by Activity, 2002 

Activity 

Number of 

Men (000s) Not at all 

Less than 

once a 

week – 

About 

once a 

week 

Several 

times a 

week Every day 

Shared a meal with or fed 

their children 13,995 1.9% 2.8% 21.5% 73.8% 

Bathed, diapered or dressed 

their children 13,995 8.4% 9.3% 29.9% 52.5% 

Played with their children 13,995 .9% 1.4% 16.6% 81.1% 

Read to their children 13,995 17.2% 26.5% 31.0% 25.3% 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. 

National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(26). 2006. 

• The large majority of resident fathers with young children eat and play with their children 

daily. In 2002, resident fathers were more likely to report playing with their children on a 

daily basis (81.1 percent) than any other activity. Additionally, a large percentage of 

fathers reported sharing a meal with or feeding their children every day (73.8 percent). 

• Fewer resident fathers read to their children every day. In 2002, only one in four 

resident fathers (25.3 percent) reported reading to their children on a daily basis and 

almost one in five (17.2 percent) reported that they had not read to their children at all in 

the past four weeks. 
 

1 (877)4DAD411 Page 3 of 6 www.fatherhood.gov

NRFC Quick Statistics 

Father Involvement 

Frequency with which Resident Fathers (Ages 15-44) Attended Religious Services with 

their Children (Ages 5-18) in the Last 12 Months, by Importance of Religion, 2002 

Importance of Religion 

Number of 

Men (000s) Not at all 

Less than 

once a 

month 

Once a 

month or 

more 

All 18,251 32.9% 25.0% 42.2% 

Very important 8.309 13.4% 19.4% 67.2% 

Somewhat important 5,853 34.8% 34.8% 30.4% 

Not important 4,090 69.9% 22.1% 8.1% 

Source: Martinez GM, Chandra A., Abma JC, Jones J, Mosher WD. Fertility, Contraception, and Fatherhood: Data on Men and 

Women From Cycle 6 (2002) of the National Survey of Family Growth. 

National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 23(26). 2006. 

• In 2002, four in ten resident fathers (42.2 percent) reported attending religious services 

with their children once a month or more in the past 12 months. One third (32.9 percent) 

reported not attending religious services with their children at all in the past 12 months. 

• Seven in ten resident fathers (69.9 percent) for whom religion was not important 

reported that they did not take their children to religious services in the past 12 months. 

By comparison, only 13.4 percent of fathers who thought religion was very important 

reported the same. 

Average Daily Time Children Under 13 Spend with their Mothers and Fathers in an 

Activity, by Family Structure, 1997 

Family Structure Mothers Fathers 

Two parent 2:21 1:16 

Single parent 1:46 :25 

Notes: 1) Data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics – Child Development Supplement, 1997. Activities in which parents are 

directly involved are broken down into six categories: household work, personal care, educational activities, social activities, sports 

and active leisure, and passive leisure. 

2) Time spent with nonresident parent is also recorded for children living in single-parent families. 

Source: Child Trends. (2002). "Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers." Washington, D.C.: Child Trends.

• Children in two-parent families spend far more time in an activity (such as reading, 

playing a game or going to the store) with their parents than do children in single-parent 

families. 

• The average time spent with fathers is four times greater for children in two-parent 

families than for those in single-parent families, which are often headed by mothers (1 

hour and 46 minutes compared to 25 minutes). 
 

1 (877)4DAD411 Page 4 of 6 www.fatherhood.gov

NRFC Quick Statistics 

Father Involvement 

Percentage of Resident Mothers and Fathers with Children Under Age 13 who Provided 

Various Forms of Warmth and Affection Every Day During the Past Month, 1997 

Fathers Mothers 

Hugged or showed physical 

affection to their children 72% 87% 

Told their child that they 

love him/her 62% 85% 

Told their child that they 

appreciated something he 

or she did 37% 55% 

Note: Data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics – Child Development Supplement, 1997 

Source: Child Trends. (2002). "Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers." Washington, D.C.: Child Trends. 

• Most resident fathers hugged or showed physical affection to their children daily (72 

percent) and told the child that they love him/her every day (62 percent). 

• Mothers are more likely than fathers to report showing warmth across all three behaviors 

including hugging or showing physical affection to their children, telling their child that 

they love him/her, and telling their child that they appreciated something he/she did. 

Percentage of Resident Mothers and Fathers with Children Under Age 13 who Hugged 

their Child in Every Day in the Past Month, by Age of Child 1997 

Fathers Mothers 

0 to 2 years 90% 98% 

3 to 5 years 84% 93% 

6 to 9 years 70% 87% 

10 to 12 years 50% 74% 

Note: Data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics – Child Development Supplement, 1997 

Source: Child Trends. (2002). "Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers." Washington, D.C.: Child Trends. 

• At all ages, fathers are less likely than mothers to hug their children daily, with the 

difference between fathers and mothers being the largest for children ages 10 to 12 

years (50 percent of fathers compared with 74 percent of mothers). 

• Over 90 percent of mothers and fathers report hugging their children under 3 on a daily 

basis, compared to 74 percent of mothers and 50 percent of fathers hugging children 

ages 10 to 12. 
 

1 (877)4DAD411 Page 5 of 6 www.fatherhood.gov

NRFC Quick Statistics 

Father Involvement 

Degree of Closeness Adolescents Feel Towards Their Parents, 

By Residence Status of Parent, 1996 

Resident 

Mother 

Resident 

Father 

Nonresident 

Mother 

Nonresident 

Father 

Boys 4.45 4.18 3.87 3.19 

Girls 4.32 3.89 3.49 2.86 

Note: Data from National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Wave II, 1996 

Closeness is measure on a scale of 1 (not close at all) to 5 (extremely close) 

Source: Child Trends. (2002). "Charting Parenthood: A Statistical Portrait of Fathers and Mothers." Washington, D.C.: Child Trends. 

• Adolescents of both genders report feeling very close to both their resident parents and 

both also report being somewhat closer to their mothers than to their fathers. The same 

pattern holds true for feelings towards nonresident parents. 

Resident Fathers’ Involvement in Prenatal Activities for Children Born in 2001, by Age 

Percent of Fathers 

Age 

Discussed 

pregnancy 

Saw 

ultrasound

Listened to 

baby's 

heartbeat 

Felt the 

baby 

move 

Attended 

birthing 

class 

Bought 

things for 

the baby 

All 92.8% 95.5% 93.3% 97.4% 41.5% 90.6% 

Less than 20 88.4% 93.4% 93.3% 98.4% 28.1% 95.0% 

20-24 90.0% 95.8% 95.8% 97.5% 35.4% 95.6% 

24-34 93.4% 95.6% 94.0% 98.0% 43.5% 92.5% 

35+ 93.5% 95.3% 91.2% 96.3% 41.8% 85.5% 

Source: Child Trends Analyses, 2001 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLSB), 9-month Resident Father Survey. 

• With the exception of attending a child birth class, resident fathers of all ages were 

highly likely to be involved in prenatal activities with the mother of their child. Activities 

include discussing the pregnancy, seeing an ultrasound, listening to the baby’s heart, 

feeling the baby move, and buying things for the baby. 

• Teenage fathers were slightly less involved than older fathers in certain prenatal 

activities, specifically discussing the pregnancy (88.4 percent) and attending a birthing 

class (28.1 percent). 

• Fathers ages 35 and older were slightly less likely than younger fathers to buy things for 

the baby (85.5 percent). 
 

1 (877)4DAD411 Page 6 of 6 www.fatherhood.gov

NRFC Quick Statistics 

Father Involvement 

Resident Fathers’ Involvement in Prenatal Activities for Children Born in 2001, 

by Race/Ethnicity 

Percent of Fathers 

Race/Ethnicity 

Discussed 

pregnancy 

Saw 

ultrasound

Listened 

to baby's 

heartbeat 

Felt the 

baby 

move 

Attended 

birthing 

class 

Bought 

things for 

the baby 

All* 92.8% 95.5% 93.3% 97.4% 41.5% 90.6% 

Hispanic 75.8% 90.1% 89.5% 96.7% 31.8% 93.6% 

Non-Hispanic 

White 97.4% 97.5% 95.0% 97.9% 45.2% 90.0% 

Non-Hispanic 

Black 93.6% 94.9% 91.0% 97.2% 32.9% 89.3% 

*All include Other race category, not shown separately. 

Source: Child Trends Analyses, 2001 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLSB), 9-month 

Resident Father Survey. 

• With the exception of attending a child birth class, resident fathers of all race/ethnicities 

were highly likely to be involved in prenatal activities with the mother of their child. 

• Hispanic fathers were slightly less involved than other fathers in discussing the 

pregnancy, 75.8 percent, compared with over 90 percent of non-Hispanic white and nonHispanic black fathers. 

• While less than half (45.2 percent) of non-Hispanic white fathers attended a child birth 

class, they were slightly more likely than Hispanic and non-Hispanic black fathers to do 

so (31.8 percent and 32.9 percent respectively).