A latest research has brought forward the fact that single mothers spent a lot less time with their children as compared to the married mothers.

The differences were analyzed by Sarah Kendig and Suzanne Bianchi from University of Maryland in the amount and type of time that single, cohabiting, and married mothers spend with their children.

The researchers found that where single mothers spend less time with their children, married and cohabitating mothers spend similar amount of time with their kids, which is definitely lot more than single mothers.

But one major factor here is concerned with education. The researchers found that if single mothers have same level of education and employment as married mothers, they would spend the same amount of time with their children.

The major reason why single mothers don't spend more time with their children is because of their high employment rates. Usually married women are housewives so they tend to spend more time with their kids. "Employed mothers spend less time caring for their children than mothers who are not employed," says the study.

The authors concluded, "This suggests that if we want to equalize maternal investments in time with children, we could do so by encouraging policies that focus on improving educational and employment opportunities for single mothers."

The latest study can be read in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of Marriage and Family.