An Examination of Parent-Child Shared Time

Data from time diaries kept by parents in two-parent, two-child families in four states in 1977 and 1978 were used to examine time shared by parents and children, as well as parent solitary times, in a number of household activities. The analysis focuses on how the mother's employment time affe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of marriage and family 1996-02, Vol.58 (1), p.227-237
Main Authors: Bryant, W. Keith, Zick, Cathleen D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child care
Child Caregivers
Child development
Child Rearing
Children
Children & youth
Daughters
Employed Parents
Employed Women
Employment
Families & family life
Family
Fathers
Homemakers
Housework
Human Capital
Mothers
Of General Interest
Parent Child Relations
Parent Child Relationship
Parent Role
Parents
Parents & parenting
Preschool Children
Recreation
School age children
Sex
Sex Differences
Sexuality. Marriage. Family relations
Sharing Behavior
Sociology
Sociology of the family. Age groups
Sons
Time Utilization
Working mothers
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Summary:Data from time diaries kept by parents in two-parent, two-child families in four states in 1977 and 1978 were used to examine time shared by parents and children, as well as parent solitary times, in a number of household activities. The analysis focuses on how the mother's employment time affects shared parent-child time and whether the time was sex-typed. In addition, a weak test for whether parent-child shared time stimulates children's human capital development was devised and the hypothesis confirmed. Mothers who spent more time in market work shared less traditionally defined child-care time, but only with the older child. In contrast, as a mother's time in market work increased, parent-child shared housework and shared leisure time increased. Household activities shared by the parent and the child were sex-typed. Mothers tended to share more time with daughters in meal preparation and family-care activities, and fathers tended to share more time with their sons in activities involving the home, yard, car, and pet maintenance and in shopping activities.
ISSN:0022-2445
1741-3737
DOI:10.2307/353391