Study: Parents Are Spending More Time With Their Kids, Not Less
The amount of child care time spent by parents at all income levels — and especially those with a college education — has risen “dramatically” since the mid-1990s…Before 1995, mothers spent an average of about 12 hours a week attending to the needs of their children. By 2007, that number had risen to 21.2 hours a week for college-educated women and 15.9 hours for those with less education.
Full New York Times article on the increase in parenting time here, based on the study, “The Rug Rat Race,” by Garey Ramey and Valerie A. Ramey.
It’s interesting how attitudes in society change over time. Fifty years ago kids had plenty of unstructured play time. Now they have structured group activities, such as soccer or band practice.
I wonder if the reason parents are spending more time with their kids is because they have to drive them to activities, hang around to watch, and then bring them home afterwards. All the extra time spent with their children is in the family minivan, SUV or watching from the sidelines.
I’m not sure I agree with the study’s conclusion that parents spend more time with kids because they worry about their kids getting into college.
I think the more likely reason is that people are older and more settled when they have kids, and they appreciate them more. I also think that having children is becoming more optional such that couples that decide to have children really want to be a part of the kid’s life.
Some good news for a change.
I think this is because of the ability to telecommute and other flexibilities created by new information technology.
I know I spend more than the average 21 hours a week with my children. Interesting study!