When Mommy and Daddy Get Home

This paper examines the impact of income and shift work on parent-child interaction so as to understand how income and a challenging work arrangement affect familial time poverty. Specifically, I study the parent-child interactions of shift work and nonshift work parents in married dual-earner households across the income spectrum. I analyze data from the first wave (1987-88) of the National Survey of Families and Households to determine effects of shift work and income, independent of and interacting with each other, on the odds that parents will spend time with their children during meals and other activities. My findings suggest that shift work parents in married dual-earner households are as likely to spend time with their children as nonshift work parents in married dual-earner households across all income levels.