Parents’ work schedules and time spent with children

This paper adds to the growing body of research on the overlap between work and family by investigating the relationship between attributes of work schedules for parents and the amount of time they spend with their children. Nationally representative time diary data from the ATUS is used to calculate the amount of time parents spend with children on a random day, and this data is merged with the CPS Work Schedules Supplement which provides information on the respondent's usual work schedule, such as having a flexible schedule, variable start and stop times, working from home or a day schedule. The results show that though some work schedule attributes have little influence on the amount of time parents spend with children, certain aspects of the timing of work are related to the total time parents spend with their children. The attributes of work schedules are also found to be associated with the amount of time spent in specific activities with children.