Nearly 70% of working parents believe they do not have time for their children
The conciliation It is one of the battles that many families fight today. Caring for children while attending to the workplace becomes an impossible mission for many parents. The solution often involves leaving the little ones in the care of others so it is not surprising that parents feel that they do not spend enough time with their children.
This is the conclusion reached by the Guardería & Familia 2018 study, which has gathered the opinion of 607 parents from different parts of Spain to get a first-hand view of their opinion on the conciliation In our country. In this new edition of the work that has been taking place since 2008, the same sensation as in the past is reflected again, there is still a lot to be done in this field.
Reconciliation, unfinished business
The results of this edition of the study highlight that the 69,98% of Spanish parents believe that they do not have enough time to devote to their children. Given this situation, it is not surprising that almost 67% of the respondents, specifically 66.4% of them, affirm that they would leave their work to focus on their family if the economic situation allowed it.
It is not surprising that therefore the main reason for children to go to a nursery school is to be able to leave the children in the care of someone. This is what the 74,6% of the parents surveyed. Only 19.5% of the participants indicated that they register their children in these centers with the intention that they can meet other children of the same age and socialize.
The conciliation also makes parents consider having more children. The fact of not having time for the care of the children derives in that many families do not consider to increase the number of members. Therefore, the 54% of the parents indicate that if they had more help they would think of conceiving more children.
Measures to conciliate
As has been said, conciliation is a pending task in Spain. Therefore, from organizations such as the Association for the Rationalization of Spanish Timetables, ARHOE, the following measures are proposed so that parents can combine their job with the care of their children:
- On the part of public administrations to promote awareness campaigns about the importance of conciliation and the benefits that a motivated worker can have in a company.
- Rationalization of schedules and adaptation to other European countries, reduction of lunch times and advancement of the exit from work to meet the needs of the family.
- Bet on the conciliation as another element in the catalog of good business practices.
- Customize in each case. Not all parents have the same needs, we will have to bet on the individualization in each case to reach an effective conciliation.
- Create a badge that facilitates the public recognition of those companies that encourage conciliation.
Damián Montero
