Организация семейной жизни: вклад родителей и детей (по результатам анализа бюджетов времени)

The article is devoted to the analysis of parents’ daily time allocation between professional activities and domestic work based on the data of the “Sample observation of the use of daily time allocation by the population” (Rosstat). We pay special attention to the differences in the distribution of time between fathers and mothers, as well as the influence of the number of children on these differences. The study shows that fathers from large families spend slightly less time working on weekdays compared to fathers from small families, but their involvement in work is higher on weekends. Mothers, on the contrary, bear the main burden of household and child care. On weekends they are also actively involved in household duties, redistributing the time freed from work for sleep, leisure and domestic work. The materials of in-depth interviews demonstrate that mothers with many children emphasize not only the high employment of their husbands, but also their significant contribution to the organization of family life. They note that husbands compensate for the lack of family time on weekdays by being more involved in household chores and childcare on weekends. The article also looks at children’s time budgets and their involvement in household labor. Adolescents often assume some of the responsibility for caring for younger family members and running the household. Parents try not to delegate serious tasks to adolescents, and ongoing tasks are realized under adult supervision. In this way, children’s involvement in family responsibilities supports their prosocial altruistic role and helps to form skills necessary for adult life.