Family time increases parents’ wellbeing, especially couple time

Time spent together in families significantly contributes to mothers and fathers' happiness when compared to being alone, shows new research from a UCL academic. The research also finds that couple time spent alone without children contributes to the largest increase in wellbeing Published today in Sociology , the study analyses data from 236 couples who participated in the 2014-2015 United Kingdom Time Use Survey and finds that fathers often reported enjoying family time more than mothers do. The parents, who were born in the 1980s with a median age of 35, were asked a series of questions about what they did with their time and how much they enjoyed it. The activities parents were asked to rate their enjoyment of were: Paid work (including education and commute), Personal Care (including sleep), Childcare,  Eating, Unpaid work (domestic work), Leisure (including TV, sports, reading, and voluntary), Travel, and Other Activities. The activities were rated on a scale of 1-7 for enjoyment with Paid and Unpaid work being the most disliked and Sleep and Leisure (e.g. watching TV) being reported as the most enjoyable activities. Study author Dr Giacomo Vagni (UCL Institute of Education) said: "Family time and time alone with children contributes significantly to mothers' and fathers' well-being.