Memo to Parents: Don't Snooze in 'Quality Time'

Watch for emerging support groups for working parents trying to deal with the sudden absence of guilt in their lives. According to Ellen Galinskys new book, "Ask the Children: What Americas Children Really Think About Working Parents," the majority of kids in dual-income households feel they spend enough time with their parents. Only 10 percent of the 1,000 children Galinsky interviewed wish they could spend more time with their moms, while 16 percent want more of their dads time. Many parents who were interviewed predicted their kids would want them to stop working, while in fact most children were happy with the time they spend with both parents.

TIME assistant managing editor Dan Goodgame warns against misinterpreting these findings. "In a lot of the coverage on this story, the headline is Extra! Kids dont really want to spend time with their parents! which is not true at all. I think people are misreading the kids interviews; its not that kids dont want to spend time with us, its that they are cognizant of not only the quantity but the quality of time we spend with them." What kids clearly do care about is how stressed and tired their parents are, and the lesson for parents, says Goodgame, is that children are much more sensitive to our moods and our fatigue than we think. "It probably doesnt do our kids much good at all if were frazzled about work or are exhausted when were spending time with them," he says. So if you find yourself nodding off after an evening of homework assistance and bedtime stories, stave off the temptation of the late-night movie and get some sleep instead. Youre kids will thank you for it. Someday.