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The Multitasking Parent: Time Penalties, Dimensions, and Gender Differences

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The Economics of Multitasking

Abstract

The transition from having no children to starting a family brings substantial changes in time use (Craig and Bittman 2008; Kotila, Schoppe-Sullivan, and Kamp Dush 2013). The increase in household workload is large and, although it varies somewhat across different social and policy contexts, it is present cross-nationally (Dribe and Stanfors 2009; Craig and Mullan 2010; Gauthier and DeGusti 2012). Parenthood also changes the composition of time use, adding requirements to perform not only child care but additional domestic work as well (Craig and Bittman 2008). Households meet this additional unpaid time demand in a variety of ways, including redirecting time to child care that nonparents can allocate to other things, such as leisure, sleep, and market work (Bianchi 2005). Other forms of adaptation include time compression—by doing more within the same period of time (Robinson and Godbey 1997).

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Authors
  1. Lyn Craig
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  2. Judith Brown
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Editor information

Charlene M. Kalenkoski Gigi Foster

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© 2016 Lyn Craig and Judith Brown

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Craig, L., Brown, J. (2016). The Multitasking Parent: Time Penalties, Dimensions, and Gender Differences. In: Kalenkoski, C.M., Foster, G. (eds) The Economics of Multitasking. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137381446_4

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