Times of India
New Delhi, May 5: A recent survey says that couples, if both partners are working, spend not more than 30 minutes a day with their children. Even more alarming is the finding that fathers may not even get that half an hour to interact with their kids.
Not surprisingly, the surveyed parents come down hard on themselves, with a staggering 60% of women wishing for a part-time job so that they can concentrate on their offspring along with their career.
Of course, gender bias still makes a strong statement in the survey. Most working dads felt that a homemaker mom was the ideal situation. But the idea was not as popular among working mothers.
The survey, carried out on a sample 3,000 working couples in various companies across cities by Assocham’s Social Development Foundation, found that couples spent a majority of the time in office.
"A working woman spends nearly 10 hours in office, over 2.5 hours travelling, 6-7 hours sleeping and three hours doing household chores. This leaves her with barely 30 minutes in a day for her kids," says Venugopal N Dhoot, chairman, Assocham.
With little supervision from parents, children are turning to other options, says Dhoot. "TV, computer games, DVD and junk food are popular with kids, instead of outdoor activities," he says.
"Parents who work long or irregular hours are not available for children after school, especially to help with the homework, not able to attend school functions or sports days and not even able to do things together on weekends," the survey points out.