Children going 'days without seeing parents'

Many UK children are going for days without seeing their parents because of the stresses and strains of modern life, a charity is warning.

Some 27% of 1,207 parents surveyed for the British Heart Foundation said they were too busy, in an average day, to spend any time with their children.

Nearly three in 10 parents said they left the house, without seeing their children, at least once a week.

The charity said the "daily grind" was driving families apart.

One in 10 of the 2,300 UK adults surveyed on the issue said the last time they spent quality time with their family was over a year ago.

Of this total, 1,207 respondents were parents.

Of these, three out of five parents worried that they were spending far less time with their family than when they themselves were young.

Although work appears to be the biggest obstacle to family time for parents, some 42% were concerned that social media was distracting their children from quality family time when at home.

Meanwhile, one in eight said the lack of contact was because people's busy schedules did not match up.

Almost half (48%) of all those polled said they feel guilty that they don't spend enough time with their loved ones.

Donna Spriggs Elliott, head of community fundraising at the the charity, said: "It's clear that our busy modern day lifestyles, and the stresses of the daily grind, are keeping us from spending time with our families."

The charity is encouraging people to make a break from their normal routine and to spend a day with their families, wearing red.

"Heart disease devastates the lives of millions of people across the UK, often without warning, so finding a way to break away from our normal routines to spend time together is important and our Wear it, Beat it day is the perfect opportunity."

The British Heart Foundation wants families to get together on 9 June for the charity's annual day of wearing red for the Wear it, Beat it campaign.