Time Use and Spending of Parents

No household type is more important to our economy than the nuclear family--married couples with children under age 18. How these couples spend their time determines the shape of our economy. How they spend their money determines its vitality.

A new Bureau of Labor Statistics study, the first of its kind, looks at three types of nuclear families in which the husband is employed full-time and compares their time use and spending patterns. The three types are: 1) wife works full-time; 2) wife works part-time; 3) wife is not employed. Here are a few of the findings...

• Wives who work full-time are less likely to cook. On an average weekday, only 79 percent of wives who work full-time participate in food preparation and cleanup compared with a larger 90 percent of wives who are not employed.
• Husbands with wives who work full-time are more likely to cook. On an average weekday, 50 percent of husbands with wives who work full-time are involved with food preparation and cleanup compared with only 36 percent of husbands whose wives are not employed.
• Dual-income couples spend more money on restaurant meals. Couples with a wife who works full-time spend 19 percent more on restaurant and take-out food than couples with a wife who is not employed--$3,092 versus $2,606 in 2009. 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, How Parents Use Time and Money