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Time & Society
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Everyday Moments

Finding `quality time' in American working families

Tamar Kremer-Sadlik

Center on Everyday Lives of Families at UCLA, Haines Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095–1553, USA,tksadlik{at}ucla.edu

Amy L. Paugh

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, James Madison University, MSC 7501, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA, paughal{at}jmu.edu

American popular and academic discourses suggest that `quality time' — conceived as unstressed, uninterrupted special time with children — is important for family well-being. However, such discourses often engender stress and guilt among working parents, who have difficulty finding time for `quality time'. This article explores the concept of `quality time' in academic and popular literature (such as websites) and then draws on interviews and ethnographic video recordings of 32 dual-earner, two-parent American families to explore both perceived and lived experiences of family time. It proposes that everyday activities (like household chores or running errands) may afford families quality moments, unplanned, unstructured instances of social interaction that serve the important relationship-building functions that parents seek from `quality time'.

Key Words: ethnography • family well-being • quality time • social interaction • working families

Time & Society, Vol. 16, No. 2-3, 287-308 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0961463X07080276
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