Parent–Child Activities, Paid Work Interference, and Child Mental Health

Abstract

Objective To examine the association between child mental health and (a) the amount of parent–child interaction and (b) the amount of interference in that interaction due to paid work. Background Although some research findings suggest children do not always benefit from being with their parents full‐time, other studies suggest it is important for children to have their parents' undivided attention. Method Analyses are based on the 2013 New Families in the Netherlands dataset (639 fathers and 849 mothers of school‐aged children). Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we analyzed how child well‐being varied with the frequency of parent–child activities and the amount of interference due to paid work. Results Children demonstrated better mental health when the frequency of father–child activities was higher and the amount of interference due to work was lower. We found no effects for mothers. Moreover, the association between the frequency of parent–child activities and child mental health was not moderated by the amount of interference due to paid work (neither for fathers nor mothers). Conclusion The findings suggest that children attach great importance to the psychological availability of their fathers. We speculate that children respond more strongly to their fathers because their attention and involvement is less taken for granted than that of mothers. Implications Given the intrusive nature of smartphones and laptops in daily life, it is crucial that parents, employers, and family life educators understand how distractions during parent–child time due to paid work can affect children. With this knowledge, strategies to minimize unintended detrimental consequences for children can be developed.

Impact of Social Distancing on the Mental Health of Parents and Children in Qatar

“…These results are consistent with those of Wang and Sheikh-Khalil (2014), who reported that parents' home-based involvement enhances children's mental health. This also confirms the results of Roeters and Van Houdt (2019), who found that fathers' engagement in children's activities promotes children's mental health. Moreover, our results demonstrate that parent-child activities were positively correlated with parents' mental health.…”

How does work affect fathers' daily interaction with adolescents? An expanded self‐regulation perspective

“…This argument is consistent with the notion of work-family goal sequencing, which is necessarily enacted across time (Hirschi et al, 2019), and couples' general need to maintain a feeling of equitable contributions to parenting over time (Radcliffe & Cassell, 2014). Moreover, due to the relatively lax, gendered parenting expectations for fathers compared to mothers (Lam et al, 2012;Roeters & van Houdt, 2019), we posit that fathers will be particularly likely to show day-to-day variation in their parenting behaviour consistent with the notion of compensation.…”

“…Thus, fathers' parenting involvement may be particularly susceptible to both their own work experiences (Almeida et al, 1999; Barnett & Gareis, 2007; Crouter et al, 1999; French et al, 2016) and their partner's inputs to caregiving (Costigan et al, 2003; Vieira et al, 2016). In addition, developmental research suggests that children are more likely to notice changes in fathers' work and parenting behaviour compared to mothers, making fathers' work‐to‐parenting spillover particularly salient and influential (Lam et al, 2012; Roeters & van Houdt, 2019). Furthermore, work–family research suggests that, compared to mothers, fathers may also have difficulty compartmentalizing their work experiences, increasing the likelihood that work spills over to impair their interactions with children (Crouter et al, 1999; Larson & Almeida, 1999; Repetti & Wood, 1997; Shockley et al, 2017).…”

“…This argument is consistent with the notion of work–family goal sequencing, which is necessarily enacted across time (Hirschi et al, 2019), and couples' general need to maintain a feeling of equitable contributions to parenting over time (Radcliffe & Cassell, 2014). Moreover, due to the relatively lax, gendered parenting expectations for fathers compared to mothers (Lam et al, 2012; Roeters & van Houdt, 2019), we posit that fathers will be particularly likely to show day‐to‐day variation in their parenting behaviour consistent with the notion of compensation.Hypothesis Father negative work events (day t ) are (a) indirectly positively related to next‐day father parent–adolescent interactive activities (day t + 1) through father work‐to‐family conflict (day t ) and (b) indirectly positively related to next‐day father parent–adolescent routine activities (day t + 1) through father work‐to‐family conflict (day t ).…”

Diverse Stepfamilies

“…, whereas others emphasizing the equal(Hornstra et al, 2022b;Videon, 2005) or higher relevance of biological fathers(Flouri & Buchanan, 2003;Roeters & Van Houdt, 2019). Still, given the strong norms suggesting their particular importance, we argue that biological mothers' involvement has a stronger positive association with child well-being than biological fathers.The strong norms on biological mothers also affect stepparents, particularly stepmothers.…”