Stay-at-home dads growing in numbers

The idea of a stay-at-home Dad is no longer a new one, but it is not the norm by a long shot.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2011 there were 176,000 two-parent households in America with the father as the primary caregiver for families with children younger than 15. That number is up from 154,000 in 2010.

For the purposes of the Census, the stay-at-home dad is defined as one who has remained out of the labor force for at least one year primarily to care for the family while their wives work outside the home. It does not take into account fathers who are home not out of choice but out of circumstances, such as an inability to find work.

The Census Bureau also says 32 percent of all fathers with a wife in the work force take care of their kids at least one day a week while their wives are at the job.

The increase in the number of stay-at-home dad is a result of the changes in work force salaries in the United States. According to a 2008 Families and Work Institute report, 26 percent of women living in dual-income households had annual earnings of at least 10 percent higher than their working spouse. When caring for children becomes a financial issue, it is often the spouse making the lesser amount of money who chooses to stay home with the children. And, increasingly, that spouse is the man.