All work and no play: Hong Kong kids miss out on quality time with parents over summer
19 per cent of parents are so busy at work that they plan to set aside just three hours a week with children
Many children are expected to spend as much time studying this summer as on activities with parents due to long working hours, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Interviews with 528 parents of primary school children over the past month have shown that while 48 per cent expect their children to study for up to seven hours a week, almost the same proportion – 45 per cent – plan to spend less than seven hours a week on family time. More worryingly, 19 per cent of parents planned to set aside less than three hours a week with their children.
Ideally parents should spend three hours a day on activities with children
The survey by the Institute of Family Education reveals the damage caused by Hong Kong’s long working hours, which was cited by 38 per cent of parents as the greatest obstacle to family time. The city’s median working week in 2015 was 44.5 hours.
“Ideally parents should spend three hours a day on activities with children,” Dr Tik Chi-yuen, chief executive of the institute, said.
The survey shows only 23 per cent of parents are planning to spend more than 15 hours a week, or two hours a day, on family activities.
