Number of stay-at-home dads in UK up by a third since before pandemic

Lockdown was ‘catalyst for change’, with men now spending more quality time with their children

The number of stay-at-home dads in the UK has leapt by a third since before the pandemic, with experts hailing a “monumental” cultural shift that has enabled a surge in quality time spent by fathers with their children.

One in nine stay-at-home parents are fathers, up from one in 14 in 2019, analysis of the latest Office for National Statistics data shows. The number of dads who had left the workforce to look after their family rose 34% over the same period.