Children deserve quality time with family .

A Wise Investment: Benefits from Families Spending Time Together


August 2007

Top Ten Findings


1. Spending time in everyday family leisure activities is associated with greater emotional bonding within the family.

2. Children in families that participate in religious activities together are more likely to report seeing expressions of love and affection between their parents.

3. Parents of families in which both the parents and children attend religious services are more likely to know their children’s social networks.

4. Children’s academic success is associated with having mothers who frequently talk and listen to them.

5. Adolescents who spend quality time with their fathers are less likely to exhibit behavioral problems.

6. Children whose fathers spend time with them doing activities in the home tend to have better academic performance.

7. Adolescents whose parents are involved in their children’s lives tend to exhibit fewer behavioral problems.

8. Youths who communicate, do activities and have close relationships with their parents are less likely to engage in violence.

9. Teens who frequently have dinner with their families are at a lower risk for substance use.

10. Teens whose parents are home with them after school and in the evening are less likely to experience emotional distress.

Heritage In Focus: August Top Ten
Top Ten Archives

July 2007
Early Childhood Outcomes
June 2007
The Father Factor

May 2007
Teen Sexual Behavior

April 2007
Staying Healthy
March 2007
Protecting the Family

February 2007
To Wed or Cohabit?

January 2007
Poverty and Families

December 2006
Well-Being

November 2006
Why We're Thankful for Family

October 2006
Civic Engagement
September 2006
Back to School

August 2006
A Closer Look at Welfare

July 2006
Parenting Matters


Family Research Experts

Pat Fagan
William H. G. FitzGerald
Research Fellow in Family and Cultural Issues

Christine Kim
Policy Analyst
Domestic Policy Studies

Jennifer Marshall
Director
Domestic Policy Studies

For Interviews call Media Relations at (202) 675-1761
The Heritage Foundation's familyfacts.org catalogs social science findings on the family, society and religion gleaned from peer-reviewed journals, books and government surveys. Serving policymakers, journalists, scholars and the general public, familyfacts.org makes social science research easily accessible to the non-specialist.