Single Parents, Living Arrangements, and Child Care Time

Yoonjoo Lee, University of Maryland
Sandra Hofferth, University of Maryland

Using the 2003 – 2013 American Time Use Survey data (N = 10,141), we compare single fathers’ and single mothers’ child care time and whether the presence of other household members moderates this association. The preliminary results show that single fathers are less likely than single mothers to engage in child care and being a single father lowers the probability of engaging in any child care and routine care more when he lives with other household members than when he lives only with his children. For those who spend time in child care, single fathers spend more time in play and teaching than single mothers when they live only with their children but less time in both activities when they live with other household members. We will further examine how other household members alter male and female single parents’ child care time and contribute to the understanding of gender and parenting.