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Study: Parents Are Spending More Time With Their Children

Washington State child custody cases and visitation rights cases are all about deciding who get to spend time – and when – with your children. But how much time does the average parent spend actively caring for their children? A new study shows that both mothers and fathers are spending more time with their children than ever – but that amount of time still isn’t as much as you might think.

According to a new study release by the University of Oxford, which followed thousands of families beginning in 1975 and ending in 2000, moms and dads are putting in more quality time at home despite some of the stereotypes of our modern times. While mothers in 1975 spent an average of 8 to 21 minutes with their children per day, mothers in 2000 clocked 51 to 86 minutes of childcare.

Fathers have also upped the time spent caring and playing with their children. In 1975, the average father would spend three to eight minutes with their child each day, compared with 32 to 36 minutes each day in 2000. This change makes sense considering that mothers are now more likely to work, while fathers are more likely to be equal parents.

While these new numbers are encouraging, they also make us realize that just a few minutes of quality time per day can be meaningful to a child – and those few minutes are the norm for children in Washington State today.

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