The meaning of fatherhood has changed a lot since Father's Day was conceived a century ago. More dads stay at home to take care of the kids. They're more willing to share in household duties. And, thanks to laws granting more rights to same-sex partners, there are more dads who are gay.
To help put the Father's Day in more perspective, here are a few figures on modern fatherhood and our plans to celebate it on Sunday.
6/17/1910: The day of the first Father’s Day, held in Spokane, Wash. Six decades later, President Lyndon Johnson designated Father's Day as the third Sunday in June, and in 1972 President Richard Nixon signed that designation into law.
70.1 million: The number of fathers in the United States.
24.7 million: The number of married fathers with kids younger than 18.
1.7 million: The number of single dads. By contrast, there are about 10 million single moms.
176,000: The number of stay-at-home dads. By contrast, there are five million stay-at-home moms.
$1.9 billion: The amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2009.
115,000: The number of same-sex couples (gay and lesbian) with children.
$117.14: What the average American will spend on Father’s Day this year, about 10 bucks more than last year, but still $45 less than what people spend on Mother’s Day.
$20,248: The market value of what the typical father does around the house (like fixing the car, paying bills, coaching, fixing things, exterminating bugs and mowing the lawn) in a year. By contrast, a typical mother does about $60,182 worth of household work.
Sources: The U.S. Census Bureau, National Retail Foundation, Insure.com