Swelling ranks of stay-at-home dads could be pandemic’s silver lining

Some of the fundamental shift in attitudes towards caregiving during lockdown appears to have endured

• Number of stay-at-home dads up by a third since before pandemic

There he stumbles across our screen, failing to plait his little girl's hair, or work out how the washing machine works, or soothe his baby. The underlying message of the pervasive, hapless dad stereotype is as subtle as a sledgehammer: dads are second-grade caregivers, their value lying elsewhere.

However, analysis suggests that for an increasing number of men, this stereotype is not only outdated, but wide of the mark. The number of stay-at-home fathers - who can, one imagines, have a decent stab at a French braid and know which compartment the fabric softener goes in - has risen by one-third since 2019.