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COLLEGE PARK, Md., Oct 17, 2006 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A University of Maryland study has suggested mothers and children spend more time together than they did in the 1960s.
The study also said fathers are doing more than twice as much child care and house work than they did 40 years ago, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
The study said "women still do twice as much housework and child care as men" in two-parent families but the parents spend nearly equal amounts of time at work.
Married mothers spent about 12.9 hours a week on child-care activities in 2000, up from 10.6 hours in 1965. Child care activities performed by fathers increased to 6.5 hours from 2.6 hours. Time spent on housework declined for married mothers to 19.4 hours a week in 2000 from 34.5 in 1965. However, that number increased for fathers, to 9.7 hours from 4.4 in 1965.
"As the hours of paid work went up for mothers, their hours of housework declined," said researcher Suzanne Bianchi. "It was almost a one-for-one trade."
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2006 by United Press International
