How Siblings Affect Time Use

Nearly 80 percent of children under age 18 live with siblings, according to the Census Bureau. But no one has examined how the presence of siblings affects what children do on an average day—until now. A study published in Demographic Research uses time diary data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics' Child Development Supplement to compare the time use of children with and without siblings at home. This is important, say the study's authors, because "the sibling relationship is typically the longest-lasting family relationship in an individual's life." Here are some of the most important differences in time use between children with and without siblings in the home...

• Children without siblings spend more of their discretionary time engaged with no one else—16 hours per week versus 12 hours for children with siblings.
• Children without siblings spend more of their time engaged with parents and no one else—22 hours per week versus 6 hours for children with siblings.
• Children with siblings spend more time engaged with others but not their parents—27 hours per week versus 17 hours for children without siblings.
• Children with siblings spend more time engaged with parents and others at the same time—15 hours per week versus 5 hours for children without siblings. 

"Children with coresident siblings spend the majority of their discretionary time engaged in activities with their siblings, highlighting the important role that siblings can play in each other's lives," the researchers conclude.

Source: Demographic Research, Siblings and Children's Time Use in the United States