How much time should a single parent be spending W/ children

Hi great forum, as a parent of a busy 4 y/o ,it has been very interesting !As a student writing a paper on welfare reform I am seeking information on how much time should be spent with children of various ages, both for single parents and traditional families?  What are the guidelines as far as how much time should we spend with our kids to prvevent problems for them down the line? I.E. juvenile delinquency, sexual promiscuity etc.. there must be info somewhere but i can't seem to find it ! any direction will be greatly appreciated!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Veronica W.,

There really is no formula regarding the amount of time to spend with children. Of course, the matter becomes more complicated for single parents, because they often have fewer options than two parent families in which both parents participate actively in parenting (which, as you probably know, isn't always the case).

We do know that children raised in single parent families can do as well as children raised in two parent families. The significant ingredient, of course, is the quality of the parenting and the integrity of the attachment between parent and child, not the number of parents or specific amount of time.