This Sunday is Father's Day. How many dads in the U.S. are there?

According to the U.S. Census, there are 26.5 million dads who are part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2006.

Among these dads:

• 22 percent are raising three or more children younger than 18 (among married-couple family households only).

• 2 percent live in someone else's home.

There are approximately 2.5 million single dads in 2006, up from 400,000 in 1970. Among single parents living with their children, 19 percent are men.

Among these fathers:

• 8 percent are raising three or more children younger than 18.

• About 40 percent each are divorced or never married, 16 percent are separated and 4 percent are widowed. (There is no significant difference between the percentages of single fathers who are divorced and never married.)

• 14 percent live in someone else's home.

• 27 percent have an annual family income of $50,000 or more.

In related Father's Day news, Spike TV commissioned an exclusive national research study to be conducted by Insight Research Group as part of the network's overall efforts to deepen its understanding of its male viewers. The "Fatherhood" study revealed that today's dads are doing more than ever before, taking on roles and activities that traditionally have been the sole domain of their spouses/female counterparts. Today's dads were queried about their interactions with their children and also asked to compare them to their experiences as a child with their own fathers. Among the notable findings:

• 62 percent of today's dads learn about being a good parent from their own mother and 60 percent learn from their own wives/partners, while only 52 percent learn from their own father; in a head-to-head battle, today's fathers choose their moms over their dads as primary role models by a margin of 50 percent to 35 percent;

• 71 percent of today's dads feel that society does not appreciate the importance of fathers

• 88 percent of today's dads feel emotionally connected to their children; the same was true of only 35 percent of their fathers

• 89 percent of today's dads are comfortable showing their children affection; the same was true of only 34 percent of their fathers

• 74 percent of today's dads often act as a shoulder for their kids to cry on; the same was true of only 26 percent of their fathers

• 69 percent of today's dads often drive their kids to activities and playdates; the same was true of only 30 percent of their fathers

• 63 percent of today's dads often babysit their own children; the same was true of only 18 percent of their fathers

• 42 percent of today's dads often stay at home with their children when they are sick; the same was true of only 11 percent of their fathers

This Father's Day, it might be nice to remember what interests Dad.

The majority of final decisions regarding the purchase of a home is made by women (87 percent of the time), who also make the decorating decisions (65 percent of the time), but when it comes to making the home a man's castle, the way to do it is by giving Dad some personal space of his own.

According to a recent study by Homes & Land, most men want their own space at home such as an office/study, media room, garage/workshop or exercise room. And, they want to decorate this personal space "his" way with personal memorabilia including college memories, sports themes, vintage collections and items, or animal or nature motifs.

Published: June 15, 2007

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