Nearly one third of New Zealanders say they don't spend enough quality time with their family.
Nearly one in three people said they didn't have enough time with their family. Photo: 123RF
The figure comes from a Statistics New Zealand survey of 8700 people, designed to understand the connections between households and families.
Two-thirds said they were getting the right amount of quality time with family, but about one in three felt they were not. Statistics New Zealand said further research was needed to find out why such a significant number of people were not getting enough time with their family members.
The study found almost 40 percent of people shared eight or more meals a week, while most shared four to seven meals weekly.
Labour market and household statistics manager Diane Ramsay said eating together is a primary way people living together spend time with each other.
The survey also found that couples without children shared more meals together, compared with couples with children and sole-parent families.
"This difference is perhaps a result of staggered meal times, but it's interesting to see that people without children share more meals together than those with children," Ms Ramsay said.
Almost half of those surveyed rated their relationship with others in their household 10 out of 10.
The survey used information from the 2014 New Zealand General Social Survey to explore the connections that New Zealanders aged 15 years or older have with their household and family members.
