Married and Single Parents Spending More Time With Children, Study Finds (Men Doing More Housework)

New York Times ^ | October 17, 2006 | Robert Pear

[Arec Barrwin]

October 17, 2006 Married and Single Parents Spending More Time With Children, Study Finds By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16 — Despite the surge of women into the work force, mothers are spending at least as much time with their children today as they did 40 years ago, and the amount of child care and housework performed by fathers has sharply increased, researchers say in a new study, based on analysis of thousands of personal diaries.

“We might have expected mothers to curtail the time spent caring for their children, but they do not seem to have done so,” said one of the researchers, Suzanne M. Bianchi, chairwoman of the department of sociology at the University of Maryland. “They certainly did curtail the time they spent on housework.”

[Brilliant]

I can vouch for this.

[sittnick]

mothers are spending at least as much time with their children today as they did 40 years ago,

Home schooling can make a HUGE difference here. My wife is a full time mother and homemaker, and outside of handyman/lawn/garbage/tech guy she does the housework. Modern appliances give her an advantage of the homemaker of 40 years ago (dishwasher, microwave, breadmaker).

[sittnick]

that should be "over the homemaker", not "of the homemaker"

[Graymatter]

Men are doing more housework, eh? Maybe time to get married again. Good help is hard to find. Husbands, somewhat easier.

[baltoga]

Duh, single parents spend more time with their kids? I would have never guessed.

[EricT.]

I'm the only person in the family that can fully load the dishwasher and every dish come out clean.

[Brilliant]

You've got me beat. My wife keeps telling me to wash the dishes before I put them in the dishwasher.

What's the point of that?

[EricT.]

You start with a good quality machine. Then you need to actually know how it works (water spray pattern, sprayer rotation path, etc...) so that every dish will get properly sprayed off. For some reason, my wife and daughters can't or won't figure that out.

I guess it's part of being a man. My wife sees a car, I see a collection of parts working together to move me down the road.

[radiohead]

I'm the only person in the family that can fully load the dishwasher and every dish come out clean.

Obviously it's an art form, isn't it? If it was a skill, I'd have been able to teach my son by now.

[radiohead]

Then you need to actually know how it works (water spray pattern, sprayer rotation path, etc...)

What an honor to have you here. You should have introduced yourself, Hank Hill. : )

[EricT.]

I don't sell propane and propane accessories, not as uptight about certain things, and I don't have a narrow urethra. However, we're close enough in attitude and thinking to be good friends. I would have to kill Dale, Bill, and Boomhauer, though.