Looking towards a national holiday, we took the time to survey peoples attitudes about Fathers Day. Nearly 900 men and women alike responded to how they felt about the importance of spending time with their fathers and the degree to which being a dad would be or is, in fact, difficult. Of the people who weighed in with their opinions, 69% were women, 67% were parents and 24% were fathers themselves.
Although more women than men took this survey, over three quarters (77%) of the respondents thought that being a father was difficult (or very difficult). Cheers to all of you dads out there! Your hard work hasnt gone unnoticed.
Whats even more impressive is that a vast number of people who took this survey admire their own fathers. Eighty percent reported that they respected their own dads parenting abilities. This fact is supported by nearly the same number of people (78%) admitting that they have (or had) a good relationship with their fathers.
However, while 18% of respondents had a poor relationship with their dads, only 15% thought that their fathers couldve done a better job as parents. The low percentages associated with this statistic promote the idea that fathers are strong role models for their children.
Yet, 70% of people who took this survey said that they werent going to buy their fathers a present for Fathers Day. While the irony of this fact appears shocking, over half of you (52%) reported that you were unable to buy a gift for your dad because he is either deceased or no longer in contact with you.
This discrepancy is also eclipsed by the fact that 86% of respondents said that they thought that spending time with their fathers, rather than purchasing something, was the best gift they could give for this important celebration.
However, dads also reported on what they would most want for Fathers Day gift so, listen up all if you looking for the perfect Fathers Day gift! Exactly half of the fathers who responded said that spending time with their families was the best gift they could receive. Apparently, most respondents have got it right!
It looks like the moms and dads agree on the most popular gift: 39% of mothers also opted for spending time with their families, making this the leading gift for them (over even jewelry and help around the house)!
Interestingly, traditional gifts like ties or cologne and other male-oriented gifts (such as sports equipment or electronics) were not nearly as popular. In fact, while only 7% of dads said that they would want an electronic gift, a mere 1% desired a traditional tie or aftershave. It appears that the thought behind the gift really does count for dads.
Although mothers and fathers agree on the most popular gift, they do differ on when they first started feeling like a parent. While nearly 50% of mothers felt like a parent during pregnancy, most fathers (59%) didnt feel like a parent until AFTER their baby was born.
This discrepancy is most likely due to the fact that a mothers body changes drastically, making her constantly aware of the babys presence before birth. On the other hand, while fathers can see changes in the mothers bodies, they dont actually experience dramatic changes themselves until the babies are physical beings that fathers have to handle too!
The following list reports interesting statistics about Fathers Day: