Parents spend less than six minutes a day playing with their children. Research has shown that the key to happiness is at least two hours a day playing with the children, but the stark reality is that families across the UK are, on average, spending far less than this, a new study has revealed.
The national survey, commissioned by Persimmon Homes, followed a study of 1,024 parents of children aged 14 years and under, to explore how work/life balance affects today’s modern family life. The findings of which have revealed that during Monday to Friday, ten per cent of parents across the UK spend, on average, less than six minutes a day playing with their children.
“Our lives are busier than ever, exacerbated if both parents work, which seems to explain why parents struggle to fit in the simple things in life, like playing or spending quality time with their children,” comments Dominic Harman, group communications director for Persimmon Homes. He continues: “As a home builder we recognise how important it is to spend quality time, together as a family in order to achieve a balanced life and enhance emotional well-being.” As a builder of family homes, Persimmon has teamed up with The Entertainer, a family run business and the UK’s largest independent toy store chain, to offer a ten per cent discount on toys and games purchased online, eligible from Friday 29th October and Monday 1st November, to help families increase the amount of time they spend together.
Gary Grant, managing director for The Entertainer, said: “There has been a real resurgence in board games over the last 18 months which has been driven by two key social factors. Firstly the recognition that board games, traditional and modern, are the simplest and most fun toy solution where a family can spend time together and secondly, parents are increasingly value conscious during these tougher economic times and are looking to find toys that are not just great value in terms of price but also have a high play value. When you consider how long a popular board game will be played with, games represent outstanding value.”
