Most adults think children still need a stay-at-home parent, but half don’t have them

More and more American children are growing up with parents who both work outside the home. But most adults think it’s still best when one parent stays home to take care of the kids, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis Monday.

The analysis, drawn from a survey conducted by Pew over the summer, found that 59 percent of American adults thought children are best taken care of with a stay-at-home parent.

Men were more likely than women to approve of a parent who stays home by about eight points. But of those who preferred having a stay-at-home parent, slightly over half of those responding said it didn’t matter which parent stayed home. Most of those who expressed a gender preference said it would be better if the mother rather than the father became the homemaker, 45 percent to 2 percent.

Data for same-sex couple households, which accounted for about 1 percent of the U.S. population according to the 2010 census, were not included.

Adults with more education were less likely to suggest a parent stay home, though more than half of college graduates still indicated they would prefer one parent took care of the kids. Black respondents were also less likely to emphasize a home-bound parent, with about 45 percent saying someone should make focus on child rearing.

There was also a partisan difference in who was more likely to advocate for a stay at home parent: Two-thirds of Republicans, compared to half of Democrats, said a parent should stay home to care for children.

But economic trends suggest stay-at-home parents are growing more scarce. According to Pew, about half of American households with two parents have both making a living outside their home. And compared to decades past, more women with children are working than before.

This story was originally published October 11, 2016 at 2:07 PM with the headline "Most adults think children still need a stay-at-home parent, but half don’t have them."