Quality time

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Quality time is a sociology expression referring to a proactive interaction between individuals,<ref name="QuaLTime.NWcov">Template:Cite magazine</ref> set aside for paying undivided attention, usually to express love or accomplish a shared goal.

Sometimes abbreviated QT, it is an informal reference to time spent with close family, partners, or friends that is in some way important, special, productive or profitable to one or everyone involved. Having conversations,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> solving jigsaw puzzles,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> collaborating on projects, and conversing during road trips can be examples of quality time.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It may also refer to the effective use of time in educational settings,<ref name=":1" /> or time spent alone performing a favorite activity (i.e., self-care).

In his 1992 book, Baptist pastor and Relationship counselor Gary Chapman suggests that quality time is one of five "Love Languages" which are used (more or less, preferentially, by a given individual) to express love and gratitude for another.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Its use as a noun expression ("quality time") began in the 1970s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> One of the earliest records of this phrase in print was in the Annapolis newspaper The Capital, January 1973, in the article "How To Be Liberated": Template:Blockquote

In the context of public schooling, the National Commission on Excellence in Education began to use the phrase circa 1983. "Quality time" was described in a 1983 letter by the principal of Hampton High School to U.S. Secretary of Education Terrell Bell. Principal Scholtz wrote, "Quality time will be enhanced by reducing that time spent by teachers on discipline and on administrative duties" and thereby "freeing teachers to do what they do best...teach".<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref>

By 1985, the phrase was in common use in books about parenting and parenting styles. Examples include A Parents' Guide to Quality Time with Preschoolers (1984),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Quality Time Almanac: A Sourcebook of Ideas and Activities for Parents and Kids (1986),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Parentips: Quality Time with Kids (1986).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Gary Champan's 1992 book The Five Love Languages defined and popularized the phrase's contemporary usage.<ref name=":0" />

Quality Time is also the title of a 1996 fiction (likely romance) novel by British author Norma Curtis.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Time Bind, a 1997 book,<ref>Template:Cite book Google Print</ref> was mentioned in Newsweek's multi-page feature about "The Myth of Quality Time".<ref name="QuaLTime.NWcov" /> The same issue of Newsweek had a full-page review<ref name="QuaLTime.NW4Life">Template:Cite magazine</ref> of another 1997 book, Time for Life,<ref name="QuaLTimeBook4Life" /> which emphasizes that most people have a flawed "ability to separate faulty perception of time use from reality."<ref name="QuaLTimeBook4Life">Template:Cite book</ref> Author Robinson's diary-based research shows that 15 hours per week of "free time" (the greatest category of time used) goes into TV viewing.<ref name="QuaLTime.NW4Life" />

Examples

Swedish painter Amalie Lindegren's 1858 painting, "A grandmother with a grandson threading a needle"
Children engage in social dancing and singing games, 1920.
Polish Jewish grandparents in Biala Podlaska teach their grandson to read, 1920.
Couples share quality time through dance in Berlin, Germany, 1925.
Working-class couples share quality time through dance in Tenho, Finland, 1974.
Mother and daughter bicycling together, 2012.
Guitarist Simphiwe Sekhute plays music with his son in South Africa, 2013.
A mother and daughter learn calligraphy together, 2013.
An adult mother and daughter converse in England's Sheffield Park and Garden, 2016.
Nepalese mother and daughter enjoy an outing, 2018.
Two individuals engage in a quality time conversation in Old Town Alexandria, 2021.