A typical working parent spends just 19 minutes a day looking after their children, according to this study.
My guess is that American working parents spend about the same time looking after their children.
There are 1,440 minutes in a day, who is spending time with your children for the remaining 1,421 minutes?
Most kids spend hours online talking with friends and sometimes with strangers, some children spend more time chatting with predators online than they do with their own parents.
If kids aren’t online they are most likely watching TV, where reality stars teach them the endearing virtues of deceit and slander.
And if they aren’t online or watching TV they are playing video games like Grand Theft Auto where they earn points for engaging in criminal behavior.
Who is instilling values in our children and teaching them right from wrong? A few minutes spent praying with your kids or reading them a story can’t compete with the long hours they idle away watching vacuous celebrities on TV or chatting with heavens knows who on the Internet.
Why do parents only have 19 minutes a day to spend with their children? Most families can only pay their huge mortgages and soaring household bills if both parents work.
But it’s also true that many parents don’t have their priorities right, they work long hours to pay for vacation homes, second and third vehicles and other luxury items that they could do without.
They may say that their children are the most import things in their lives, but how they spend their money and their time proves otherwise.
The sobering results of this study should prompt parents in Britain and here in America to examine how they can spend more time with their children. Instead of that weekly manicure, you can take your child to the park. Instead of working out for two hours a day, you can spend one of those hours bonding with your son or daughter. Instead of surfing porn sites you could help your youngster with his homework. There are countless things that you can do to make more time to be with your children.
How many minutes a day do you spend with your children, and is that the best you can do?
