Mothers Still Do Most of the Parenting in Dual-Career Households

Research at Ohio State University finds that women in dual-career couples still take on a substantial part of child care activities in the home. In a study of couples who both worked outside the home, women were found to spend 70 percent of their time when they were not working or sleeping on child care activities. For working men in these households, about 50 percent of their time was spent on activities related to child care. The data excluded time spent by mothers on breastfeeding and breast pumping.

Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, an associate professor of  human sciences at Ohio State and a co-author of the study, stated, “Both parents my think they should divide child care responsibilities equally, but mothers still feel a special pressure to show they are being the best parent they can be. We have always talked about fathers doing more, but it may be that mothers should do less. They need to relinquish some control.”

The study, “Time Parenting Activities in Dual-Earner Families at the Transition to Parenthood,” was published in the December 2013 issue of the journal Family Relations. It may be accessed here.