Even though they have fewer children than in the past, North-American parents still devote almost as much time to their offspring – mothers a little less, fathers a little more. This is particularly true of young Quebec fathers. However, all in all, less time is spent in the physical company of the children, whatever the activity, though young Quebec fathers are once again the exception. The drop in maternal contact time is due mainly to women’s increased presence on the labour market. The fact of having young children at home, rather than age, gender or educational level, is one of the main factors impacting the parents’ daily schedules, more particularly as concerns the number of working hours and the amount of free time. When the children are grown up, parents tend to plan out their days like childless parents.