2007 Volume 58 Issue 5 Pages 231-246
This paper aims to clarify how the parent' time to return home as well as their lifestyle affect their children's life after school. A questionnaire coupled with hearing survey was conducted in two cities of Osaka and Kobe. The subjects were those families who had their lower grade children spend time at private GAKUDOHOIKUSYO after school. The findings are as follows: 1) The children's home life is shortened as they return home late, consequently decreasing their free or leisure time at home. 2) Nearly half of the families are required to have their children go to another childcare place before coming home. The need of the second facility tends to increase where the difference of parents' return home time is later than their children's time by over thirty minutes. 3) Parents' late coming home inevitably delays the dinner and bedtime, and the late bedtime is likely to cause lack of sleep. The lack of sleep is bound to cause loss of appetite at breakfast. 4) Parents' late return home affects the communication with their children, shorter family life and less frequent family dinner. 5) In view of sharing between father and mother in housekeeping childcare, the degree of cooperation is not unrelated to communication with children. Where both parents come home early, children's life rhythm is stabilized, the family communication is kept close, and children are likely to help their parents at home. Where parents share their responsibility at home, they are allowed to have time with their children. In conclusion, things would work out fine when parents returned home around the time when children arrived home.
