Families experience fewer days out together
Neil Puffett
Friday, May 27, 2011
Concerns over finance and increasingly busy lifestyles are putting family relationships under pressure, charity 4Children has warned.
A YouGov poll commissioned by the charity found that out of 2,028 respondents 62 per cent felt they went on fewer family days out than they did 20 years ago.
4Children voiced concern about family time being squeezed warning that spending time as a family is important particularly for vulnerable and disadvantages families.
The findings, published as part of the charity’s Give Me Strength campaign, have been revealed at the start of National Family Week which revealed that average day out cost around £50.
Anne Longfield, chief executive of 4Children said: "Hectic work schedules, financial concerns and competing demands on time can take their toll on the amount of time families spend together.
"A day out offers parents and children a chance to get away from both internal stresses within the family and external pressures. A short break away from the domestic routine allows children and parents to reconnect. Days out can strengthen bonds and build shared family experiences and memories that we know are so important in keeping families strong and together."
A separate poll conducted for National Family Week Poll found that that weekly time families spend together has gone down to an average of two and a half hours.
