Key facts and figures

 

There are a lot of similarities in how involved mothers and fathers are in the lives of their children. However, mothers tend to perform routine family activities, like making a meal or helping with homework, more often than fathers and say they are more involved with their children’s emotions.

Over a third of parents and children take part in leisure activities together several times a week. Examples of these activities include going to the park, seeing a film or having a picnic.

Parents with older children were less likely to report quarrelling. However, the more children there are in the household, the more quarrelling there is.

Parents who are not in paid employment are more likely to report talking with their children every day, 65%, than working parents, 57%.

Most parents say that they cuddle and praise their children very often, 85% and 82% respectively.

Parents are far more likely to report shouting a lot when there are three or more children in the household than when there is just one child.