Desire of many parents More time for the family

Survey Study: Parents want more time for the family

29/04/2012

Almost 50 percent of parents in Germany would like more time for the family. Especially fathers suffer from lack of time: Two thirds of the fathers stated in a survey study that they can not deal with their wife and children in sufficient time.

Almost half of all parents living in Germany want more time for the family. Especially fathers said in a Forsa survey on behalf of the health insurance DAK health, they would have too little time for their wife and children to sufficiently deal with them. Nevertheless, for 61 percent of all respondents is the family „the most important thing in life“. Only 40 percent said they had enough time to take care of themselves. On the other hand, 44 percent said they needed more time for the family. Significantly too little time for the family even have 16 percent of the interviewed parents.

The men are particularly rare: only 29 percent of the fathers believe that they have enough time for family life. By contrast, at least 51 percent of mothers believe that they have adequate time for their family life.

Above all, love, security and cohesion
However, the family is the most important thing in life for the majority of respondents (61 percent). „Above all, love, security and cohesion and the feeling of walking through thick and thin“ 65 percent associate with the term family. Every second parent said the family was the one „Place where you feel at home“. For 13 percent is the „Pretty exhausting“ and nine percent even said it would be in some times „bothersome“.

Stress is also a recurring factor in family life, because living together can sometimes be exhausting due to strife and overwork. „As in any other area of ​​life, parents should regularly provide rest and relaxation“ advises Ralf Kremer, expert on coping with stress in DAK health. As the „also switch off“ is done, it does not matter at first. „The main thing is that every family member can recharge their batteries with new energy.“, so the stress expert.

Stress reduction through joint activities
According to the DAK survey, eating together is compensatory for most parents. For 84 percent are the meals „an important source of relaxation“. Eighty percent of families take weekend breaks to reduce family stress and 58 percent skip shared sports. For 62 percent, play afternoons or evenings are an ideal balance to provide recreation in the family.

Shared TV also means relaxation for about half of all parents. The differences in this question are only minimal among the sexes: „Females are more likely to use film and television to reduce stress and relax within the family“. Consoles and computer games are increasingly gaining in value as a shared relaxation program for some families (16 percent). Over 50-year-old parents are less likely than families under the age of 50 to organize weekend family outings or play days together to reduce stress.

A total of 1003 mothers and fathers of children under the age of 18 were interviewed in the survey. The study was commissioned by DAK Health and the magazine „Family & Co“ through the Research and Opinion Institute „Forsa“ carried out. (Sb)

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Picture: Rolf van Melis