Research by a team of University of Maryland sociologists and demographers shows that compared to 40 years ago, parents across the board are spending more time with their kids.
Even when they work outside the home, moms spend more time on childcare activities, but less time on housework. Meanwhile, "the amount of childcare and housework performed by dads has increased sharply," the study finds.
So where's the time coming from? Are there somehow 25 hours in these study subjects' days? Apparently, parents double up, taking kids along on household tasks, for leisure activities, and working during soccer games. Working moms had an average of 71 hrs/wk of activity, compared to at-home moms' 52 hours. So yes, that's adding one more complete job to the to-do list.
I'd say "buy the book," but the study shows that personal activities like reading and watching TV were the first to go when the kid came along.
Married and Single Parents Spending More Time With Children, Study Finds [nyt]
You could at least buy Changing Rhythms of American Family Life and put it on your shelf [amazon]
