Parents' Assessments of How Much Time They Spend with Their Children at Different Ages

Abstract

The self-reported amount of active engagement time parents ( n = 1107) and children ( n = 773) spend together was investigated with questionnaires. Mothers spent more time with their children than fathers did. The amount of parental quality time decreased with the age of the child, the average across age groups being 4.4 ± 3.0 hr. for mothers and 3.0 ± 2.9 hr. for fathers per day. Children reported spending roughly 1 hour more time with their parents than the latter reported.