Family time suffering in UK

New research by think-tank Organisation for Economic Co-operations and Development shows that women who work outside the home in the UK spend on average 81 minutes a day caring to their families. This figure was almost doubled for those mothers who choose to stay at home, at two hours and 35 minutes a day. 

The report valued ‘time’ given to families by various activities that included meals, bath time, reading books, dressing up  and playing games, excluding time when the parents’ chief focus was on ‘other responsibilities’.

UK working mothers spent almost half the time compared to 21 other countries on the survey. In Ireland, mothers spent 150 minutes a day caring for their family; Austrians 137 minutes and mums in the United States, Canada, Italy, Sweden and Spain all topped  mothers in Britain.

The report also found that overall, it was fathers with jobs who spent the least amount of time on their children, clocking up just 43 minutes a day.  Fathers who did not work still spent less time with their kids than their mothers - 18 minutes less at an average of 63 minutes a day.

The research also noted the varying type of childcare that each parent gives. Mothers spent more than half their time on physical care like dressing, changing nappies, feeding and providing medical care, whereas dads were more likely to spend time on educational and recreational care – helping with homework, reading and playing games.

The statistics for Britain included time spent with children at weekend  which means that on working days, the average amount of time parents spent caring for their children was actually less.

In the past two decades, the number of stay-at-home mums has dropped significantly. With more than 13 million women in work, there are just two million who choose to care for their families full-time.

Family campaign groups argue that with so many women feeling under pressure to work long hours, the emotional development of children is being damaged.  Some psychologists claim that that less time than 81 minutes could be enough if it included activities which were fun and sufficiently bonding.

What do you think? Do you spend more or less time with your children than the survey says? Is it good or bad for your child?