Father's Day

The Good and Bad News on the State of Fatherhood in America Today

As we near Father’s Day 2026, we must appreciate anew how important fathers are to children, families and society. As Dr. Kyle Pruett of Yale University has long emphasized, fathers matter because they do not mother. Fathers parent as men and that makes profound differences in the lives of children. Dads are irreplaceable.

So, what is the state of fatherhood in America today?

Brad Wilcox, a leading sociologist of the family from the University of Virginia, and a longtime friend of Focus on the Family, wrote this week over at The Free Press, “This Father’s Day, the state of American fatherhood is strong.” A strong body of literature, here, here and here, shows that younger fathers who live with their children spend about three times more hours per day actively engaged with their children than fathers in past generations.

That is great news. Increased father involvement makes men happier, and it meets the vital needs of their children. Science journalist Derek Thompson explained last month, “You will be hard-pressed to find any part of day-to-day modern life that has changed more in the last half-century than the way today’s parents – and fathers, in particular — spend their time” with their children.Fathering time with children has quadrupled over the past few generations. That is very good news.

University of Southern California Professor of Psychology Darby Saxbe notes the wonder of fatherhood in her important new book, Dad Brain: The New Science of Fatherhood and How It Shapes Men’s Lives:

As I discovered when researching my new book, becoming a committed father also directly benefits men. Men who prioritize fatherhood may lose some sleep, gain some extra weight and enjoy less free time, but they can also discover a richer life with greater meaning, purpose and connection. And when it comes to brain health and mental fitness, becoming a father is one of the best things you can do.

Saxbe’s book documents further findings on how fatherhood is essential for children and how it improves the well-being and happiness of men. She adds,

Men with two children had an estimated brain age that was 0.6 years younger than their childless peers had, and for men with three children, it was 0.7 years younger. That’s similar to the brain benefit associated with exercising 2.5 hours a week.

She also notes that fathers may even get a stronger cognitive benefit from fathering their children than mothers do at mothering.

Yet, in order to enjoy the benefits of fatherhood, a man must get married and have a baby with his wife. This is where the news gets less positive. The number of married couples raising children has been declining markedly over the last 50 years in America and across the globe. Yet, the number of children living with married biological parents has thankfully increased just a bit since 2012 in the United States.

However, the Institute for Family Studies (IFS) just released a new report detailing how more men are sadly opting out of fatherhood. Fatherhood is clearly declining among young men, ages 25-45.

The reason for this decline is two-fold. Primarily it is because birthrates are simply declining as marriage rates decline. Fewer men and women are having babies. Married fertility has been dropping substantially, but married couples are more likely to be the ones having children. The other reason for the decline of fatherhood is simply because nearly all people are delaying having children – that sets the numbers back as well. And those who do marry are marrying later than they were decades ago.

But it remains true: Men who are fathers are happier than their childless male peers.

IFS explains,

Men without children are typically living lives that are lonelier, less purposeful, and less happy than their peers who are engaged fathers – most typically in the context of marriage. Indeed, there is no question that married fathers are the happiest men in America today – they are more than twice as likely to be “very happy” with their lives, compared to their peers who are childless and unmarried.

So, the American story on fatherhood this year is a good news and bad news story. We need to get more men married which is the proper foundation for fatherhood. That will improve their lives, the lives of their children, the women they are married to and society as whole.

This is why fatherhood matters. So, celebrate your father well this Father’s Day!

Related Articles and Resources:

New Study Shows Becoming a Father Rewires the Male Brain

New Research Shows How Fatherhood Uniquely Boosts Child Health

The Important Parenting Differences Between Moms and Dads

Why Children Need Both a Mom and a Dad

Married Fatherhood Makes Men Better

Important New Research on How Married Parents Improve Child Well-Being

New Research Shows Married Families Matter More Than Ever

New Research: Marriage Still Provides Major Happiness Premium

Cohabitation Still Harmful – Even as Stigma Disappears

Yes, Married Mothers Really Are Happier Than Unmarried and Childless Women

Married Mothers and Fathers Are Happiest According to Gold-Standard General Social Survey

Presidents as Fathers: Which Was the Best?

What kind of father do presidents of the United States make?

On the eve of Father’s Day weekend, consider some of the advice occupants of the Oval Office have offered their children.

Donald Trump, who holds the distinction of being the 45th and 47th president, has long touted the simple and straightforward counsel he’s given all four of his children.

“I always said the same thing,” President Trump told the New York Post. “I said: no drugs, no alcohol, no cigarettes. I also would say don’t get tattoos, but I don’t say it too strongly, because a lot of people have gotten tattoos, and that’s what they choose to do.”

Trump’s brother Fred was an alcoholic who tragically died of the disease. As a teetotaler, the president offers toasts at special dinners with glasses of Diet Coke.

Back in 2004, Trump, who was married twice prior to First Lady Melania Trump, did an interview with New York Magazine where he bluntly said, “I’m a really good father, but not a really good husband. You’ve probably figured out my children really like me — love me — a lot.”

What about previous presidents?

President Joe Biden has reportedly urged his children to focus on the personal concerns and interests of others.

“The most successful and happiest people I’ve known understand that a good life at its core is about being personal,” the former president stated.

“It’s about being engaged. It’s about being there for a friend or a colleague when they’re injured or in an accident, remembering the birthdays, congratulating them on their marriage, celebrating the birth of their child. It’s about being available to them when they’re going through personal loss. It’s about loving someone more than yourself.”

Former president Barack Obama urged his two daughters, “Don’t let your hunger for success keep you from enjoying life.”

“What we try to encourage is the sense that it’s not somebody else’s job, it’s your job,” Obama reflected. “That’s an ethic that they’ve embraced. You have to be persistent.”

President George W. Bush, who was famously influenced by his own father, the 41st president, credits his decision to give up drinking alcohol with enabling him to be an engaged and loving dad.

As president, Bush regularly urged his daughters to live “normal” lives. “Your mother and I are living our lives,” he told them. “And that’s what we raised you to do: live yours.”

When Michael Reagan was about to get married, President Reagan wrote him the following letter:

You’ve heard all the jokes that have been rousted around by all the ‘unhappy marrieds’ and cynics. Now, in case no one has suggested it, there is another viewpoint. You have entered into the most meaningful relationship there is in all human life. It can be whatever you decide to make it.

… Sure, there will be moments when you will see someone or think back to an earlier time and you will be challenged to see if you can still make the grade, but let me tell you how really great is the challenge of proving your masculinity and charm with one woman for the rest of your life. Any man can find a twerp here and there who will go along with cheating, and it doesn’t take all that much manhood.

It does take quite a man to remain attractive and to be loved by a woman who has heard him snore, seen him unshaven, tended him while he was sick and washed his dirty underwear. Do that and keep her still feeling a warm glow and you will know some very beautiful music.

…There is no greater happiness for a man than approaching a door at the end of a day knowing someone on the other side of that door is waiting for the sound of his footsteps.”

Other notable and involved Oval Office dads have included Teddy Roosevelt, John Adams (whose son grew up to also be president), John F. Kennedy, and George H.W. Bush.

Of course, the very best fatherly advice comes not from presidents but from the Bible. Scripture urges fathers to train their children in His ways (Proverbs 22:6), discipline accordingly (Proverbs 3:11-12) and yet be mindful to not exasperate boys and girls as they raise them “in the instruction and discipline of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).

Which president has been the best father? It’s an impossible question to answer, but you can be sure each one, whether they demonstrate it well or not, has loved his child or children just as much as you love yours.

Image from Getty.