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About

Parents in Australia have higher total time commitments and more gendered time-use patterns than other adults, with most ‘juggling’ their time between paid work and family caring responsibilities.  Responding to the time demands of the labour market as well as the time demands of family presents considerable challenges.  Parents are routinely described as being time scarce, and time pressured. 

Healthy living also requires time. Exercise and a good diet are considered to be vital for good health but both require time and effort.  In view of the time constraints experienced by parents, is there time for health?

This study seeks to explore parents’ lived experience of time in their daily lives.  Using a qualitative and interpretive framework and drawing on semi-structured interviews with a small sample of parents, it explored the attitudes and priorities articulated by parents in engaging in work, caring for their children and in being healthy.  The study questions whether parents can strike an acceptable balance between the multiple demands on their time, and considers compromises and opportunities for health and wellbeing.  The results highlight the difficulty that many parents face in satisfactorily balancing time for paid work and family responsibilities, and suggests that the ability of some parents to ‘choose health’ is constrained.

Bio

Mandy has extensive experience in research and policy development in the Australian public sector, in the areas of education, employment and health.  She has also worked in consulting roles in the private sector, while balancing her time between PhD studies and family life.  She has tertiary qualifications in Economics and Demography.