Parenting study says quality time spent with kids more important that quantity

NEW YORK (WPVI) -- There is a groundbreaking new study taking a closer look at how parents spend time with their kids and revealing that quality may be more important than quantity.

Finding more time to spend with children is the cause of stress and guilt for parents everywhere, but should it be?

The study, from the Journal of Marriage and Family, is changing what parents think they know about the topic.

The amount of time spent with children has been on the climb since 1985, but this first large scale study of its kind says it's not the amount of

time you spend with kids between 12 and 18 years old. Instead, it's the quality of what you do together that matters.

The authors categorize parent-child time in two ways, accessible time -- time where the parents are physically available to their children -- and

engaged time -- where the parent and child spend time doing something together.

So even if it's a small amount of time that you do share with them, make sure it counts.