LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb. 12, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a
tale as old as time, the evening comes to a bustling end as mom or
dad catches a glance at the clock and asks in disbelief, "Where did
the day go!?" To get right to the bottom of it, the National Center
for Families Learning (NCFL) tapped Harris Poll in October 2013 to conduct an online survey of more
than 2,000 U.S. adults* to investigate how families spend their
days together. And while they definitely can't create more time for
parents, today NCFL and Toyota announce the Family Time Machine, a
website and mobile app to help parents and kids make better use of
every moment in the day.
In their survey, NCFL found:
- The average amount of time parents spend with their children
each day is 8.6 hours
- Even working parents (employed full-time, part-time or
self-employed) spend an average of almost seven hours (6.7) each
day with their kids
- Close to 2 in 5 (37%) parents aren't comfortable helping their
children learn outside the classroom
- More than half (53%) of parents wish they knew how to make
better use of the time they have with their children
Inspired by the study's findings, Family Time Machine turns
everyday occasions into family learning time through sharing and
imagination. Whether it's space travel at breakfast or dinosaurs at
bath time, with the Family Time Machine there isn't a wasted moment
for learning.
Tailored activities include:
- Morning time Toothbrush Jams and Step-a-thon
- Drive time Stoplight Stories and Tree Hunt
- Meal time Dinner Geometry and Food Architecture
- Bed time Math Hands and Giggle Time
"Learning is no longer confined to a classroom, or a textbook,"
said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice
president of NCFL. "Children need to learn in ways that are
relevant to real-life situations, and our recent study shows us
that parents are open to inspiration. The Family Time Machine will
help parents seize learning opportunities in everyday and every
moment."
Led by NCFL and funded by Toyota, Family Time Machine is a part
of Toyota Family Learning, a six-year program that features
modern-day solutions to educational challenges—including innovative
mobile learning tools and funding for groundbreaking community
work. The program strives to create new models for learning by
expanding family literacy beyond the classroom and into homes and
communities.
Key elements of Toyota Family Learning include:
- Family Time Machine, a new website community inspiring families
across the nation to learn, interact, and thrive together
- Grants for communities to fund new family mentor programs and
service learning programs targeting vulnerable families
- Online resources, such as Wonderopolis.org
"Family Time Machine exemplifies Toyota's commitment to
supporting programs that help families learn together by
transforming everyday moments into ones of great learning
potential," said Mike Goss, vice
president of external affairs for Toyota Motor Engineering &
Manufacturing North America, Inc. "Literacy is critically important
in maintaining a competitive workforce, so we're especially pleased
to build upon our longtime relationship with NCFL through the
Toyota Family Learning initiative."
A Longtime Learning Alliance
Over the 22 years of
their progressive partnership, NCFL has fostered exemplary learning
programs across the country with Toyota's generous support—256
family literacy sites in 50 cities and 30 states to date. The
partnership has helped more than one million families make positive
educational gains that have resulted in academic and economic
success for parents and their children.
Additional Information
- Full Family Learning Report available here
- Follow the adventures on Twitter at @FamTimeMachine
- Show us your own learning moments on Instagram
#FamilyTimeMachine
About the National Center for Families Learning
The
National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is a national
nonprofit organization dedicated to helping adults and children
learn together. NCFL creates and deploys innovative programs and
strategies that support learning, literacy and family engagement in
education. From the classroom to the community to the digital
frontier, NCFL collaborates with educators, advocates and
policy-makers to help families construct hotspots for learning
wherever they go. For more information on NCFL's 24-year track
record, visit www.familieslearning.org.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations
in the United States in 1957 and
currently operates 10 manufacturing plants. Toyota directly
employs over 31,000 in the United
States and its investment here is currently valued at more
than $19.5 billion, including sales
and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial
services and design.
Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the
communities where it does business and believes in supporting
programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports
numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education,
the environment and safety. To date, Toyota has contributed
$700 million to nonprofits in
the United States.
For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
(NYSE:TM)
Study Methodology
This survey was conducted online
within the United States between
October 8-10, 2013 among 2,020 adults
(aged 18 and over), *among which 454 are parents/guardians of any
children ages 18 and under living in their household and 309 are
working parents, by Harris Poll on behalf of NCFL. Figures
for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household
income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with
their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score
weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be
online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use
probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error
which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate,
including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with
nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response
options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, the
words "margin of error" are avoided as they are misleading. All
that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with
different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with
100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no
published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who
have agreed to participate in surveys. The data have been weighted
to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the
sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the online
panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be
calculated.
[For complete survey methodology, including weighting
variables, please contact Sara
Crumley at scrumley@shiftcomm.com]
SOURCE National Center for Family Literacy