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Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

economist.com

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Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#221

Post by linkregister »

This article is half-baked. How were parents spending less time with their children? Day-care facilities have greater attendance than ever.

Were relatives watching the children?

What age ranges were covered?

Without more information, the graphs are meaningless.

Maybe it's due to children having more unsupervised, outdoor play. Maybe it's due to relatives watching children more. If the age range is 0-5 years, the results are astonishing. If the age range is 0-18 years, then perhaps it's just a remnant of the shift from rural to urban populations, and the decrease of outside-the-home time by teenagers.

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#222

Post by Pulcinella »

tomc1985 wrote: post #211
Pulcinella wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original comment I was responding to specifically said “you can have CPS called on” you. Many people then pointed out the case of the Meitiv family even though nobody called CPS on them. Somebody called the police because they saw children playing in a parking garage unattended. Nobody called the police and said “the Meitiv’s children are playing in the neighborhood unattended.”

"you can have CPS called on you" doesn't imply a direct relationship between the reporter and CPS. The end result is the what matters.

I think it does. The statement is very clear and straight forward. It is a different statement than “you could be investigated by CPS for leaving your child on a parking garage.”

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#223

Post by j_s »

kelukelugames wrote: post #5

> One analysis of 11 rich countries estimates that the average mother spent 54 minutes a day caring for children in 1965 but 104 minutes in 2012. Men do less than women, but far more than men in the past: their child-caring time has jumped from 16 minutes a day to 59. I spend 100+ minutes every day changing diapers. Actually that's not true, most of my time is spent trying to put the stupid newborn to go to sleep. I…

There are kids books that at least might trigger a smile (very much more for the parents): https://amzn.com/1617750255

Hang in there!

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#224

Post by floren »

metaobject wrote: post #189
SamBam wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure which ones, but my friend's five-year-old girl spends her time watching videos of and older girl showing off her Brand-Name Doll, and all the accessories you can buy for it, and how isn't it just so cute when I put her in THIS accessory , and tune in tomorrow for more accessories you can buy... That definitely makes me sick.

At least the older one is being productive and producing content. Hey, there are some silly YouTubers who make real money from just streaming their life (games, fashion, etc). Arguably, what they’re doing is better than sitting in front of a passive device like a TV. Sure, they could be spending their time more wisely, but the kids need some sort of down time (exactly how much time is for the parents to figure out).

> Arguably, what they’re doing is better than sitting in front of a passive device like a TV.

But the example given was of a child semi-actively watching ads, for hours and hours. Is that better than watching, say, Sesame Street?

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#225

Post by patejam »

junkscience2017 wrote: post #104
NDizzle wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sign them up for sports! Start with signing them up for everything as the season hits. Try everything once. Let them pick which things they continue with. Go to the park to practice said sports as a family. Take breaks to play on the play structures. Repeat as needed.

we do, but I am also sick of every requirement to go outside being a scheduled event. there is no spontaneity to their lives, they only go outside when there is a practice or game for one of their sports. btw their entire middle school is like this. I hope this is not a sad preview of their adult lives...locked in their homes on screens.

I don't have kids, and I'm still pretty young (23), but one of my favorite things to do as a kid was go camping with my family.

Have you thought about a "spontaneous" roadtrip and weekend camping trip somewhere with no reception?

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#226

Post by Cd00d »

Jill_the_Pill wrote: post #193
nshelly wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would also suggest finding a quiet, dark place near your house where you can go on a walk with your infant. As I walked around the neighborhood, she went from refershed by the air, to a bit annoyed that she wasn't able to move around much - I'm sure some neighbors heard protest crying - to dazed and then resigned to close the eyes. I got upwards of 10,000 steps every night just walking around with her, and learned…

These are great suggestions, but I am going to add my own, as an experienced mother of three. Whenever the getting-to-sleep process starts, once you've gotten comfortable, baby in arms or in the stroller, you have to let your mind wander, even if you're rocking or singing a little sleepy song. Babies can tell when you're sitting there thinking "is he asleep yet? how about now? what if we're up all night?" As long as…

I agree with this. For our kids, I've been the one that's most successful with quick sleep times, and my wife and I believe it's largely driven with our different mental energies during that time.

I'm a night owl, so don't feel pressure to rush it, and just settle in for the long haul and relax and daydream myself, planning to finish my day once the kids are good and settled. My wife gets tired at night and spends the time tallying her remaining chores and work that needs finished before she can get to bed herself, and the kids then tend to not settle down.

It's harder now with our 3 year old, who uses mama's hair as her bedtime lovie.

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#227

Post by colmvp »

robertwiblin wrote: post #64

"One of Galinsky's more surprising findings centered around a question she posed to both children and parents: "If you were granted one wish to change the way your mother's/your father's work affects your life, what would that wish be?" Some 56 percent of parents anticipated that their children would want more time with their parents and for their parents to spend less time at work, yet only 10 percent of the childre…

That seems to resonate with me. I might want a little more time with my parents, but quite honestly, I'd rather they were less stressed and tired. Unfortunately, they are pretty headstrong so nothing I say would ever change their hours.

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#229

Post by barry-cotter »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #191
komali2 wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been tossing this idea around actually. Gotta find some way to put my anthropology minor to use :P All unsourced speculative thoughts: So, traditionally, across all early human civilizations (including pre-ag revolution), my understanding is that kids weren't "raised" by their parents - everyone just kind of hung out in their villages, doing misc tasks/work, while the children ran free. The "raising" was done by…

You appear to be describing the difference between a communist society and a capitalist one. The elders, and everyone, helps to raise the child in the "agrarian" because they realise the benefit acrues to all of society, and they have humanity; the modern way is to not do it because you can do other stuff that makes you more profit and puts you ahead of the others. People in "The West" are much more involved in compe…

You appear to be confusing communist with agricultural and capitalist with industrial.

Re: Parents now spend twice as much time with their children as 50 years ago

#230

Post by Cd00d »

Troyboy wrote: post #19

How is this even possible when nearly all households requiring dual incomes?

I think it was an interview with Bob Newhart (maybe WTF), where he talked about how his dad was never home - instead he went to the bar and hung out with his buddies every night. The interviewer asked him why, and Newhart answered "I guess he didn't really like us very much" (sad, but with a funny delivery).

But, maybe we have more "family" time between dinner and bed than previous generations? I don't know. It seems to me, anecdotally, that people tend to spend more time at home in front of tv in the evenings, as opposed to hanging out at bars, for example, than may have been the standard of the past. The pubs in my neighborhood don't have the daily regulars like on Cheers....

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