Table 8C. Time spent in primary activities for the civilian population 18 years and over by presence and age of youngest household child and sex, 2024 annual averages, not employed

Table 8C. Time spent in primary activities for the civilian population 18 years and over by presence and age of youngest household child and sex, 2024 annual averages, not employed
Activity	Average hours per day spent in primary activities
	Household child under 18									No household children under 18
	Total			Youngest household child under 6			Youngest household child 6 to 17			Total	Men	Women
	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
Total, all activities(1)	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00	24.00
Personal care activities	10.21	10.11	10.25	10.15	9.18	10.34	10.25	10.40	10.16	10.14	9.90	10.34
Sleeping(2)	9.50	9.41	9.53	9.53	8.85	9.66	9.48	9.58	9.41	9.39	9.33	9.43
Eating and drinking	1.32	1.50	1.25	1.18	1.03	1.21	1.42	1.64	1.28	1.38	1.41	1.35
Household activities	2.89	1.82	3.33	3.16	1.92	3.40	2.70	1.79	3.27	2.72	2.42	2.95
Housework	1.09	0.39	1.38	1.24	(3)-	1.41	0.98	(3)-	1.34	0.82	0.45	1.11
Food preparation and cleanup	1.20	0.62	1.43	1.46	1.08	1.53	1.00	0.47	1.33	0.75	0.52	0.94
Lawn and garden care	0.15	(3)-	0.07	0.06	(3)-	(3)-	0.21	(3)-	0.11	0.35	0.48	0.25
Household management	0.13	0.06	0.16	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.10	0.07	0.12	0.25	0.23	0.26
Purchasing goods and services	0.72	0.76	0.71	0.55	(3)-	0.53	0.85	0.80	0.89	0.85	0.79	0.89
Consumer goods purchases	0.37	0.39	0.37	0.29	(3)-	0.28	0.44	0.39	0.46	0.36	0.30	0.40
Professional and personal care services	0.08	(3)-	0.08	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.10	(3)-	(3)-	0.14	0.12	0.15
Caring for and helping household members	2.08	1.61	2.28	3.61	4.36	3.46	0.97	(3)-	1.10	0.11	0.11	0.10
Caring for and helping household children	1.72	1.31	1.89	3.20	3.87	3.08	0.64	(3)-	0.72	-	-	-
Caring for and helping nonhousehold members	0.16	(3)-	0.15	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.13	(3)-	0.12	0.29	0.23	0.34
Caring for and helping nonhousehold adults	0.04	(3)-	0.02	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.06	(3)-	(3)-	0.08	0.07	0.09
Working and work-related activities(4)	0.22	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.06	0.06	0.05
Working(4)	(3)-	(5)-	(3)-	(5)-	(3)-	(5)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(5)-	(5)-	(5)-
Educational activities	0.86	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.24	0.18	0.29
Attending class	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.08	0.08	0.08
Homework and research	0.30	(3)-	0.23	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.14	0.08	0.19
Organizational, civic, and religious activities	0.36	(3)-	0.38	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.42	(3)-	0.49	0.46	0.41	0.50
Religious and spiritual activities	0.16	(3)-	0.18	0.17	(3)-	0.17	0.15	(3)-	0.19	0.20	0.18	0.22
Volunteering (organizational and civic activities)	0.17	(3)-	0.16	0.06	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	(3)-	0.21	0.19	0.23
Leisure and sports	4.74	5.50	4.43	3.91	5.48	3.61	5.35	5.50	5.25	7.26	8.07	6.61
Socializing and communicating	0.75	0.66	0.80	0.74	(3)-	0.77	0.77	(3)-	0.82	0.67	0.67	0.67
Watching television	2.19	2.14	2.21	1.88	2.52	1.76	2.41	2.02	2.65	4.21	4.88	3.68
Participating in sports, exercise, and recreation	0.26	(3)-	0.23	0.21	(3)-	0.19	0.29	(3)-	(3)-	0.31	0.38	0.25
Telephone calls, mail, and e-mail	0.19	0.16	0.21	0.12	(3)-	0.14	0.24	0.19	0.27	0.29	0.21	0.35
Other activities, not elsewhere classified	0.23	0.14	0.27	0.16	(3)-	0.18	(3)-	0.16	(3)-	0.22	0.19	0.23
Footnotes (1) All major activity categories include related travel time. See Technical Note for activity category definitions. (2) Includes naps and spells of sleeplessness. (3) Estimate is suppressed because it does not meet the American Time Use Survey publication standards. (4) Estimates include a small amount of work time done by persons who do not meet the American Time Use Survey definition for employed. (5) Estimate is approximately zero.
- Not applicable. NOTE: A primary activity refers to an individual's main activity. Other activities done simultaneously are not included.

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Last Modified Date: June 26, 2025