Lone and Partnered Mothers' Childcare Time Within Context in Four Countries

Abstract

We use data from nationally representative time-use surveys to compare and contrast lone and partnered mothers' childcare time in four countries with different social norms and policy orientations towards mother-care and work-family reconciliation: Australia, the United States, France, and Denmark (N=8,031). We decompose time with children into primary activity care tasks: (i) physical care, (ii) talk-based interactive activities, (iii) accompanying children, and also measure (iv) additional time spent with children net of specific care activities. We find that, on average, mothers in Australia and the United States spend substantially longer each day with children net of specific care activ..