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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
Looking for Moms with Leisure Time
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Anonymous
| holy crap...i think i might be getting 30 hours of leisure time a week...i do flop on the couch and watch tv or thumb through a magazine for 2.5 hours a night (17.5 hours/wk) after my 2 y.o. son goes to sleep....and i run 20 miles a week, which i suppose is considered "leisure"? ....that's 15 hour/wk...for a total of 32.5 hours/week. wow. there goes my martyr complex. i'm not telling anybody about this!!! |
Anonymous
If these researchers are leaving the definition of leisure time up to the respondent and then trying to give a single estimate (i.e., 30 hours a week) based on that variable definition then the study/studies you are quoting sound pretty flawed and I wouldn't bother trying to prove/refute them. |
Anonymous
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Hopefully this journalist is reading her research carefully, but of course authors of time diary studies do publish the definitions of what they consider leisure. It is not left to the respondent, but rather the respondent fills in their day in 15 minute increments and then researchers make sense of this time use by placing it into broader categories.
"Free Time" generally represents the following: Education Religion Organizations Events Visiting Fitness Hobby Television Reading Stereo Communication If you are folding laundry while you watch TV then this would probably be coded as housework first, but that is up to an individual data coder. For most people, TV is the most common use of free time, about 10 hours a week for employed mothers, and I think from reading these posts, that would seem pretty accurate! That how long we last from baby bedtime to mom bedtime, and who has the brainpower for more productive leisure? |
Anonymous
Are you for real? You sound super lazy. Why would you do chores after your kids get home? Isn't the purpose of being at home when they are in school to spend time with the kids in school work and kid related activities? Not avoiding them by putting off housework until after they get home? You really just fed a major negative stereotype. |
Anonymous
Yea, I agree. My DH each take a "night out" once a week - but more often than not we are doing things that can't get done on the weekends. Like tonight is my night and I am taking my minivan to get an oil change. Ohhh...and exciting. 
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Anonymous
| If you count sleep as free time. |
Anonymous
And you sound super lazy. Are you jelous? If it works for my family and DH is'nt complaining what difference does it makes? |
Anonymous
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I love the night out for an oil change!! My parents were in town a few weeks ago and graciously shooed us out of the house to grab dinner and a movie while they babysat. On the way to the restaurant, DH said, "Pull into the gas station. I'll pump your gas and fill your tires." I thought it was so sweet and nice of him. My mom was dismayed that we thought this was a good use of our date night! (We did get dinner, but were way too tired for a movie.)
As for other leisure, I count my shower as me time. Take one every day and it's wonderful. Then I dry my hair. DH is in charge off the infant during this time (of course, it is 6:30 am). Then I'm on the same ride everyone else is, pausing the TIVO to switch the laundry and running back up to fold while I watch and clean the playroom. That's about as relaxing as we get around my house. |
zumbamama
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My kid-free leisure time is 10pm-1am every night. I spend that time drawing, reading, surfing, listening to music, watching movies, writing, stretching, and sometimes entertaining guests or jamming with my cousin's band.
I consider my job leisurely. There's 10-15 hours a week. Do playdates count? I meet up with a mom-friend once a week for a few hours. |
Anonymous
| I surf the web -- specifically DCUM. I must spend at least an hour a day here! |
Anonymous
Not pp, but to me you sound selfish. It's hard to understand why you wouldn't spend at least some of your free time doing chores so you could have more time one-on-one with your DC. Unless you have help with household chores/errands it would seem that most of your afternoon/evening would be doing chores and therefore not being available for your DC. |
Anonymous
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Where does anybody get off telling another mom how to structure her day? Seriously. How dare you call this woman "selfish"? You do what works for you, and let her do what works for her -- you don't know her life, so don't be so quick to judge.
As for the OP's question, I have about 2 hours after DD's bedtime per night, so that's 14 hours right off the bat. I almost always spend that time relaxing and doing something "leisurely." As for daytimes, I'm a SAHM. She's in preschool several hours a week and she naps an hour a day, and I'd be lying if I said I spent ALL those hours productively, though I do also run errands, cook, clean, etc. So actually, I think I do get somewhere close to 30 hours, which kind of amazes me. Not quite, but not far off -- over 20, I'd say. Now go ahead and call me a lazy bitch, if you like, nasty one! |
Anonymous
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I'm a WM but I get a fair bit of leisure time. I work 4 days a week and I usually get a lunch hour, at least 80% of the time a full hour, maybe 15% of the time at least a little while for a break, and then of course there are days I just eat at my desk. I usually use my lunch hour to work out or take a walk, but I count that as leisure time.
Also, I don't know if Starbucks runs at work count as leisure time but I definitely do that almost every day! DD is usually down by 8:00 and I usually have about 2 hours of leisure time, by 10 I try to prep for the next day - usually preparing food/meals, then getting ready for bed, etc. I usually flip through a magazine for about 15 minutes which I count as leisure time. Mornings are a bit more hectic, at least the four mornings I work, no leisure time there. DH does drop off and pick up on most days (daycare) - I don't know if time on the Metro would be considered leisure time, but I do enjoy sitting quietly and reading, though I do usually flip through BB there too. My three day weekends are filled with a fair amount of leisure time. We have a housekeeper a few times a month and DH pitches in a lot with cooking and meal prep for the week, groceries and other errands, picking up the house, etc. so although some of my weekend time is spent with house upkeep, it's not too bad. We spend a lot of time with DD just hanging out, we take a lot of walks, trips to the farmer's market, maybe get together with family nearby or friends with kids. Really the only time I take away from DD is to go to the gym on Saturday and maybe pop into a store, browse through the bookstore, etc. Overall I would say I get plenty of leisure time. But I'm sure that will change if we have another child, at least for a few years! |
Anonymous
| I think I have a decent amount of leisure time as well. We have one 4 year old, and he's not that demanding anymore. I have an hour for lunch on the 3 days I go in the office. I find my 1-hour each way commute relaxing, since I listen to books on tape. I usually go out for 3 hours or so one night a week. I read before bed for about an hour most nights. I surf the internet for an hour most evenings. On weekends, we do things as a family, or I can do a little shopping. I'd guess 10 hours of leisure time? So that's 30ish. I actually think it will be a tough adjustment when we have a second! |
Anonymous
| who ever said moms, working out of the house or sahm, had 30 hours of leisure time was out of their damn mind. I would bet this person was a man or did not have kids, maybe both. What a joke. |