The National Families Week theme for 2013 draws attention to the sometimes difficult task of achieving balance in our lives. Achieving balance can be helped by working together in our immediate and extended families, as well as with friends, neighbours and the wider community.
One of the pressing challenges today is finding the balance between the hours spent in paid work and the time spent with family and friends, in community activities, and looking after our own health and wellbeing. This facts sheet highlights some of the ways in which such time commitments vary over the life course, and how families manage these and other competing demands on their time. It draws on a range of Australian data to highlight some current trends.