Parents' working hours: adolescent children's views and experiences

As dual-earner families have become the norm, the different kinds of 'time' children spend with parents has become an important issue. This study uses the 2000 Time Use Survey to identify adolescent children spending time alone at home, and interviews with 50 children aged 14 and 15 to explore young people's experiences. The authors investigate their views on their situations, appropriate domestic responsibilities and how they manage their time. It is suggested that simple parental presence or absence is not necessarily the main issue for children. However, parental employment may be problematic for some adolescent children.