Parents urged to spend time with their children as the clocks go back

FOR many tired parents, the day the clocks go back might be a welcome opportunity to spend an extra hour snoozing, but a new poll suggests that their children may have other ideas.
Horologist Roman Piekarski starts the time consuming task of adjusting the antique clocks at Cuckooland Museum in TableyHorologist Roman Piekarski starts the time consuming task of adjusting the antique clocks at Cuckooland Museum in Tabley
Horologist Roman Piekarski starts the time consuming task of adjusting the antique clocks at Cuckooland Museum in Tabley

It reveals that around half of children would rather be playing, or even doing their homework or cleaning their room.

The poll, commissioned by Action for Children, found 62.75 per cent of parents are planning to spend Sunday’s extra hour in bed, while a further one in six will be using the time to catch up on household chores, like cleaning and paying the bills.

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Just one in 10 said that they will be using the hour to spend time with their children.

In comparison, nearly a third of the four to 16-year-olds surveyed said that they would like to take the extra hour to play with their family, such as their parents or brothers and sisters, while a further 14.65 per cent said that they will be happy to play games on their own. Seven per cent of the youngsters questioned said that the extra hour would be a good opportunity to clean their room or do their homework.

And some parents hoping for a lie-in may find themselves in luck, as 45.85 per cent of children do simply want to stay in bed.

Action for Children said it was encouraging parents to spend the extra hour with their children as part of its new National Children’s Hour campaign. The charity’s chief executive, Sir Tony Hawkhead, said: “We are asking everyone to make the most of the extra hour - National Children’s Hour is a celebration of everything that is great about childhood and aims to help every child grow into a happy adult. All you need to do is ask children what they want to do with their time.”

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