Charts by Topic: Care of household children (by adults living in households with children)

Findings from the 2007 survey:

• On an average weekday, among adults living in households with children under 6, women spent 1.2 hours providing physical care (such as bathing or feeding a child) to household children; by contrast, men spent 0.4 hour (23 minutes). On an average weekend day, women provided about an hour of physical care to household children, while men provided about half an hour.
• Adults living in households with children under 6 spent an average of 5.6 hours per day providing secondary childcare--that is, they had at least one child under age 13 in their care while doing activities other than primary childcare. Secondary childcare was most commonly provided while doing leisure activities (2.2 hours) or household activities (1.4 hours).
• Adults living in households with children under 6 spent more time providing primary childcare on an average weekday (2.1 hours) than on an average weekend day (1.7 hours). However, they spent less time providing secondary childcare on weekdays than on weekend days--4.8 versus 7.6 hours.

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• Married women, ages 25 to 54, who were employed full-time and lived with a child under 6, spent fewer hours per weekday caring for household children than women who were not employed or only worked part-time. Women who worked full-time also spent fewer hours engaged in leisure and sports activities, household activities, and sleeping than women who were not employed or only worked part-time. (Data are from the 2007 survey.)

Last Modified Date: November 13, 2008