News Corp Great Australian Parent Survey’s shock finding: Parents reveal true amount of time spent with kids

An hour? Two? Or maybe three? Not quite. Over-stretched parents around the country share exactly how much quality time they carve out for their kids each day.

Businesswoman and mum Paige Cross with her husband, Nigel, and children Oliver, 4, Madeline, 6, Paige, and Amelia, 9. Picture: Matt Loxton

Over-stretched Australian parents are now so time poor, nearly one in five cannot find a single minute for themselves in their chaotic daily lives.

And just a third can only spare half an hour to do something that they enjoy every day.

Hardworking mums and dads have spoken loud and clear in News Corp’s Great Australian Parent Survey 2025, which has unearthed the daily stress that families are surviving under.

The survey, conducted across the country earlier this month, shows 17.9 per cent of mums and dads – or close to one in five – are finding no time in the day to do an activity they enjoy or find fulfilling.

Another 30.5 per cent say they have less than 30 minutes a day to do their own thing and more than a quarter say they have just 30 to 60 minutes. Only 1.8 per cent said they had three to four hours.

One in 10 parents said they spent less than 30 minutes of quality time with their children every day, while 25.5 per cent could only manage 30 to 60 minutes and a third had one to two hours.

Sydney-based parent educator and social worker Gen Muir said the survey findings were a “disaster”.

Parenting coach and social worker Gen Muir. Picture: Supplied

“They don’t surprise me but they really worry me, particularly the people that are finding no time in their days,” said the mother of four boys aged eight to 15.

“There’s no job in the world that would ask anyone to do so much – multi-tasking, regulating other people’s emotions, the physical and emotional demands – and not take time for yourself.

“To think those parents are saying there is nothing in my day that I do for me, not even one minute, that’s a disaster.”

Ms Muir, who founded support service Connected Parenting, said it was no surprise a resurfaced clip from kids’ cartoon Bluey showing red heeler mum Chilli announcing she just needs “20 minutes when no one comes near me” had gone viral on social media.

A resurfaced clip from the kids’ cartoon Bluey has gone viral, with mum Chilli announcing that she just needs “20 minutes when no one comes near me”.

“It makes parents feel seen,” she said.

“If Chilli can feel burnt out, that gives mums permission to acknowledge that … mums just need 20 minutes.

“When we do take that time, we’re so much better when we engage with our kids because we have prioritised ourselves.”

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As a busy mum of three kids aged nine, six and four and a small-business owner who struggles to find “a few minutes” to herself during the week, Paige Cross relates to the survey findings.

Mum of three Paige Cross never feels like she has enough time. Picture: Dean Martin

The Cross family, Nigel, Oliver, 4, Madeline, 6, Paige, Amelia, 9, and their dog, Rosie, 3. Picture: Matt Loxton

“I never feel like I have enough time,” said the 43-year-old from Adelaide, whose business, Cross Country Management, specialises in project management for farmers and agricultural businesses across Australia.

“My day starts at 6am and it doesn’t stop until we go to bed at night. I think that we have organised chaos. You prioritise everyone else’s needs and yours always come last.”

Originally published as News Corp Great Australian Parent Survey’s shock finding: Parents reveal true amount of time spent with kids