How do parents share child care?
Release date: October 7, 2024
Description: How do parents share child care?
In 2022, on average, mothers spent 7.5 hours per day caring for their children, while fathers spent 4.9 hours.Note
About 55% of parents in different-gender couples reported sharing at least half of child care tasks equally. However, fathers (64%) were more likely than mothers (46%) to report sharing tasks equally.
Parents were most likely to report equally sharing children’s leisure activities.
Both fathers and mothers felt that child care tasks were shared more equally on weekends than on weekdays.
| Percentage of mothers and fathers who reported this task was shared equally | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mothers | Fathers | |||
| Weekdays | Weekends | Weekdays | Weekends | |
| Providing physical care Table 1 Note 2 | 28% | 46% | 45% | 65% |
| Helping with homework Table 1 Note 2 | 22% | 38% | 44% | 52% |
| Participating in leisure activities | 38% | 54% | 54% | 68% |
| Accompanying children to activities | 26% | 52% | 37% | 62% |
Parents who reported sharing tasks equally were less likely to feel time pressure than parents who did not.
| Parents who shared tasks equally | Parents who did not share tasks equally | |
|---|---|---|
| Cut back on sleep to save time | 58% | 68% |
| Worried that they didn’t spend enough time with family or friends | 60% | 67% |
| Felt constantly under stress because there is not enough time | 68% | 75% |
Sources: Statistics Canada, 2022 Time Use Survey.
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