The association between parent-child quality time and children's flourishing level

Abstract

Purpose: Few studies have examined the association between parental quality time and flourishing measures in young children. This study explored the association between parental quality time and children's flourishing in a national sample of USA children 1-5 years of age.

Design and methods: A cross sectional study using data from the 2019-2020 National Survey of Children's Health (N = 17,855). Flourishing was measured with a composite score (values 0-4) derived from 4 questions on attachment with parent, resilience, learning, and contentment with life. Having all 4 items was optimal. Parent-child quality time per week was measured with 3 items: singing or storytelling, reading to child, and family meal with child; using a 4-point scale: 0 days, 1-3 days, 4-6 days, and every day/week. Multivariable logistic regression models were conducted to assess the odds of lower flourishing in SAS 9.4.

Results: After controlling for confounding, only the lack of singing and storytelling were negatively associated with greater odds of lower levels of flourishing (0-2 items OR = 5.06, 95% CI 2.11-12.14; 3 items OR = 2.92, 95% CI 1.73-4.93).

Conclusions: Insufficient parent-child quality time is associated with lower flourishing levels. Fostering parental opportunities to engage in weekly quality time with their children should be a priority of child health programs seeking to improve child flourishing.

Practice implications: Nurses should provide guidance to parents on ways to nurture quality family time and promote children's psychosocial, environmental, and physical well-being. Nurses can advocate for programmatic and policy changes to ensure familial work/life balance and licensing/accreditation of all child centers.

Keywords: Child development; Child flourishing; Nurse home-visitors; Nursing; Parental quality time.