New research has found that despite an increase in the number of families in which both parents work, mums and dads are spending more time with their children than they did 20 years ago.

The American study found that in 1997, children between the ages of three and 12 spend about 31 hours each week with their mothers compared with 25 hours in 1981. The figures for fathers are 23 hours in 1997 and 19 hours in 1981.

And the researchers at the University of Michigan found that the increase was the same regardless of whether both parents worked or the mother stayed at home.

The study concludes that parents are spending more time with their children partly because of a cultural pressure to do so through the realisation that parents play a key role in a child's development.