Changes in Children's Time with Parents

Abstract

This paper examines changes in the time American children spent with their parents between 1981 and 1997, and the contribution to these changes of shifting patterns of female labor force participation, family structure, and parental education. Changes are decomposed into the parts attributable to changes in demographic characteristics and parts likely due to changes in behavior. In general, children’s time with parents did not decrease over the period, and in two parent families it increased substantially. Population level changes in demographic characteristics were found to have only small direct effects on time children spent with parents.