Parents Spending More Time With Children: Study

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American parents are spending more time with their children than parents of earlier generations, say researchers who analyzed a dozen surveys conducted between 1965 and 2007.

Before 1995, the average amount of time mothers spent looking after their children was about 12 hours a week. In 2007, that increased to 21.2 hours for college-educated mothers and 15.9 hours for mothers with less education, The New York Times reported.

Among college-educated men, the average amount of time spent with their children increased from 4.5 hours to 9.6 hours per week. Among other men, time with their kids jumped from 3.7 hours to 6.8 hours per week.

The findings were presented in March at a Brookings Institution conference in Washington, The Times reported.

The findings should comfort guilt-ridden working parents, said family researchers.

"Parents are feeling like they don't have enough time with their children," Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York City, told The Times. "It's a function of people working so hard, and they are worried they're shortchanging their children. I've never found a group of parents who believe they are spending enough time with their kids."