Study confirms: fathers are slowly catching up on children's sick days

When a child is sick, it is still usually the mother who stays home in Germany. According to an analysis by the AOK, 73 percent of so-called "child sick" days fell to women last year, as the NDR reports. This means: in three out of four cases, it is the mother who interrupts her work when the child has a fever or needs to see a doctor.

This unequal distribution is persistent. Although parents could legally share children's sick days, practice tells a different story. The study thus reveals a structural problem in reconciling family and work, which particularly burdens women. This is especially evident in federal states like Lower Saxony, where the rate is similarly high as the national average.

Fathers catching up slowly

But there is also good news: fathers are catching up in the number of children's sick days, as the WDR documents. The trend suggests that the division of roles is slowly shifting – though not yet fast enough. Experts attribute the persistent inequality to several factors: traditional gender roles in families, economic incentives (fathers often earn more), and cultural expectations play a role.

According to the Süddeutsche Zeitung, many families are asking themselves what lies behind this inequality – and how it could change. As long as childcare is perceived as primarily a female task, the rate is likely to shift only gradually. The AOK data show: Germany still has a long way to go to achieve true equality in childcare.