Average Japanese Father Spends 3.1 Hours with his Children
Friday, September 1, 2006 Posted: 02:45 PM JST
Japanese fathers spend extremely little time with their children, an interview survey by the National Women's Education Center has revealed. The Japanese center conducted an international comparative survey on education at home between March and June of last year. It was addressed to approximately 1,000 parents living with their children aged 12 or under in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, U.S.A., France, and Sweden.
The survey shows that an average Japanese father spends 3.1 hours on a weekday with his children, the shortest time next to his Korean counterpart, and only one-half of that of a Thai father, who spends the most time, 5.9 hours, with his children.
As for time spent by mothers with their children, the survey ranks Japan first out of the six countries surveyed. An average Japanese mother spends 7.6 hours with her children. The difference in the time spent by fathers and mothers in Japan is the largest, 4.5 hours, among the six countries. The proportion of fathers in Japan who worry about being unable to spend enough time with their children is as high as 41.3 percent.
The Center, in its remarks on the findings of the survey on child discipline and other issues, commented that the level of child discipline and independence of children seem to be low in general in Japan.
Keywords: national_news
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