Parents May Be Spending Too Much Time with Their Kids
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Blend Images/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — A controversial new study from University of Maryland researchers will likely alarm a lot of parents but it could also serve as a much-needed wake-up call.
The upshot of “How Does the Amount of Time Mothers Spend with Children Matter?” is that parents, particularly moms, may be spending too much time with their children in an effort to make them more well-rounded both socially and educationally.
According to the researchers, the average time moms spend engaged in activities with three-to-11 year-olds is anywhere from 11 to 30 hours weekly. It drops off a bit to between 11 and 20 hours when children enter their years of adolescence.
The researchers point out that children are no better off either academically or psychologically than 40 years ago when seven hours a week spent with kids was considered the norm.
Meanwhile, the pressure to focus much of one’s free time with youngsters makes parents feel more stressed, tired and anxious, which is often picked up by astute children.
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