Parents' time use: A 1967–1986 comparison

The purpose of this article is to report the different time allocations of parents with an infant in 1967 and in 1986 in order to observe changes in household production, childcare, and total obligatory activities. The sample is a subset of 84 families from a 1967 study of two-parent families and from 108 families from a study of first-time parents in 1986.Multivariate analysis of covariance is used to indicate the effects of variables such as age, education, and employment of the parents as well as appropriate interaction terms before allowing the factor of sample year to allow for variance. The effect for sample year then is adjusted for other variables in the sample. Significant differences in time use, all other variables held constant, are observed in mothers' time in childcare, in household production, and in total obligatory activities. Fathers' time in childcare and in total obligatory activities significantly increase. Implications for family well-being are drawn.