Daily time use among married mothers

On an average day during the 2009–2013 period, married mothers working full time who had children under age 6 spent 2.1 hours caring for and helping household members. Those working part time spent an average of 2.6 hours each day on these activities, and those not employed spent 3.3 hours. Married mothers working full time whose youngest child was ages 6 to 17 spent 0.8 hours helping other household members, less than half the time spent by those with children under age 6.

Over the 2009–2013 period, married mothers working full time who had children under age 6 spent, on average, 1.7 hours per day engaged in household activities such as housework and food preparation and cleanup. Those not employed spent 3.3 hours on these activities. Married mothers working full time whose youngest child was ages 6 to 17 spent an average of 2.0 hours on household work, more than that spent by those with children under age 6.

Married mothers employed full time spent less time engaged in leisure and sports on an average day during the 2009–2013 period than married fathers employed full time. Married mothers who were not employed also spent less time engaged in leisure and sports than married fathers who were not employed. These activities include socializing and communicating, watching television, and participating in sports, exercise, and recreation.

These data are from the American Time Use Survey. For more information, see "American Time Use Survey — 2013 Results" (HTML) (PDF). Data refer to people age 15 and older.