A Matter of Time: Father Involvement and Child Cognitive Outcomes

Abstract

Objective This study provides the first systematic account of how father–child time (in total and across activity types) relates to children's cognitive development as well as examining whether paternal education moderates these associations. Background Fathers in Western countries allocate progressively more time to child care. However, most research on how parental time inputs affect child development focuses on maternal time. It remains unclear how paternal involvement in the child's upbringing influences child outcomes. Method The study uses three waves of unique, longitudinal, time‐diary data from an Australian national sample of children aged 4 to 8 years (Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children; N = 3,273 children, 6,960 observations). Children's cognitive development is measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The data are modeled using a range of estimation strategies for panel data. Results The total amount of father–child time is associated with, at best, small improvements in children's cognitive functioning. In contrast, the amount of father–child time in educational activities is associated with moderate to large improvements. Such associations are similar for highly and less‐highly educated fathers. Conclusion Our findings are relevant for policy and practice, being indicative that enabling paternal involvement in their children's upbringing should bring moderate to high gains to their children in terms of cognitive functioning, particularly if paternal involvement is directed at educational activities.

Sexual Orientation and Adolescent Time Use: How Sexual Minority Youth Spend Their Time

“…Time use is an important marker of child and adolescent well‐being, and reflects the nature of adolescents’ social relationships, the social contexts in which they are located, and the activities in which they engage (Wight, Price, Bianchi, & Hunt, ). Furthermore, a large body of literature suggests that time use matters for child development and achievement (Cano, Perales, & Baxter, ; Fiorini & Keane, ; Milkie, Nomaguchi, & Denny, ). Due to the distinct pressures faced by sexual minority youth, it is likely that they will differ from heterosexual youth in who they spend time with, where they spend it, and what they do.…”

Class Inequality in Parental Childcare Time: Evidence from Synthetic Couples in the ATUS

“…We focus on parental developmental childcare time-including time spent in play and in educational activities such as reading and homework help-for children aged 0-7. By focusing on parental developmental childcare for younger children, we focus on the type of care that studies taking both panel (Fiorini and Keane 2014, Del Bono et al 2016, Cano et al 2019, Gialamas et al 2019Li and Hamlin 2019) and quasi-experimental approaches (Villena-Roldán and Ríos-Aguilar Hsin and Felfe 2014; Price and Kalil 2018) have shown is most beneficial for child outcomes, performed at an age where these investments are most consequential (Heckman 2006).…”

“…Because children are most receptive to environmental influences during early childhood, investments in children during this period play a crucial role in child development. In particular, for young children, parental childcare time in developmentally enriching activities such as playing or talking with children, reading with children, or helping children with homework is positively associated with cognitive outcomes (Fiorini and Keane 2014;Hsin and Felfe 2014;Del Bono et al 2016;Cano et al 2019;Li and Hamlin 2019), child behavior (Hsin and Felfe 2014;Gialamas et al 2019), and academic performance (Villena-Roldán and Ríos-Aguilar 2011; Price and Kalil 2018). However, this developmental childcare time is sharply stratified by parental socioeconomic class (e.g., Kalil et al 2012;Hsin and Felfe 2014;Altintas 2016;Vinopal and Gershenson 2017).…”

Children’s Daily Activities and National Context: Structural Opportunities or Cross-Cultural Factors?

“…The second key dimension of child time use is with who children spend time. Child time 'with parents' establishes the base of their future cognitive and socio-emotional development (Cano et al, 2018;Gracia, 2015;Kail & Mayer, 2016). Yet, time with 'others' in (un)structured activities fosters children's social and relational skills also, which are central for the individual formation of social capital during late childhood and adolescence (Coleman, 1990;Putnam, 2001).…”