This Father’s Day, make sure to get dear ol’ dad an extra special gift because he’s taking extra special care of you these days.

According to a new study, there were two million stay-at-home dads in 2012 (the most recent year data was available). That’s almost double the 1.1 million in 1989. The high water mark for stay-at-home dads was 2010 when 2.2 million went that route.

Stay-at-home parents are still mostly mothers, but men are gaining. In 2012, 16% of all stay-at-home parents were dads, a steep jump from the 10% in 1989.

So, why are fathers leaving the traditional job behind to remain with the kids in the house? About 35% say they’re sick or disabled, ahead of the 23% who say they cannot find a job and those who are in school, retired or other (22%).

Another 21% say they're intentionally staying home so they can care for the family.

Those figures paint quite the contrast from the 73% of stay-at-home mothers who say they remain home specifically to look after their family.

More From KZCD-FM