But dads at home are on the rise

New figures released today show that the percentage of stay-at-home mums has plummeted 24% in 15 years to just over two million. Just seven per cent of parents of young children stay at home to look after them full-time. It seems that many families are blaming the cost of living for the choice to work – the study released by uswitch said that seven out of 10 parents would stay at home with their kids if money were no object.

The study – which looked at a number of statistics released by the government this year – found that the average family income would need to be over £31,000 for one parent to be able to stay at home.

The one glimmer of good news is that the number of stay-at-home dads is on the increase, rising 58% since 1993. However there are still less than 200,000 fathers looking after their children full-time, according to the Office of National Statistics.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, said of the report's findings: 'Economic factors are taking away the choice for many young families today. People who want to stay at home can’t afford to due to rising household bills, and even people who want to return to work can’t afford to either, due to the high cost of childcare. As a result, both parents and children are losing out.'

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