Everyday Moments

American popular and academic discourses suggest that quality time' - conceived as unstressed, uninterrupted special time with children - is important for family well-being. However, such discourses often engender stress and guilt among working parents, who have difficulty finding time for qual...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTime & society Vol. 16; no. 2-3; pp. 287 - 308
Main Authors Kremer-Sadlik, Tamar, Paugh, Amy L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.09.2007
Subjects
Discourse
Time
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Summary:American popular and academic discourses suggest that quality time' - conceived as unstressed, uninterrupted special time with children - is important for family well-being. However, such discourses often engender stress and guilt among working parents, who have difficulty finding time for quality time'. This article explores the concept of quality time' in academic and popular literature (such as websites) and then draws on interviews and ethnographic video recordings of 32 dual-earner, two-parent American families to explore both perceived and lived experiences of family time. It proposes that everyday activities (like household chores or running errands) may afford families quality moments, unplanned, unstructured instances of social interaction that serve the important relationship-building functions that parents seek from quality time'. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Ltd., copyright 2007.]
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ISSN:0961-463X
DOI:10.1177/0961463X07080276