 Pre @-@ industrialisation , the family worked together as a unit and was self @-@ sufficient . Beginning with the Industrial Revolution , large @-@ scale production replaced home manufacturing ; this shift , coupled with prevailing norms governing sex or gender roles , dictated that the father become the <unk> and the mother the caregiver . When affection @-@ based marriages emerged in the 1830s , parents began <unk> more attention to children and family relationships became more open . Beginning during World War II , many women entered the workforce out of necessity ; women resumed the caregiver position after the war , but their new @-@ found sense of independence changed the traditional family structure together with cultural shifts leading to the feminist movement and advances in birth control . Some women opted to return to the care <unk> role . Others chose to pursue careers . When women chose to work outside of the home , alternative childcare became a necessity . If childcare options were too costly , unavailable , or undesirable , the stay @-@ at @-@ home dad became a viable option . 
