Family time as spatial practice. Rethinking family time as adult–child copresence in the space of the family home

Driven by ideology, family time is constructed by adults for the sake of children. ‘Family time’ is a prescriptive term that assumes positive interaction in space, leading families to perform interactive togetherness in the shared spaces of the house. This article develops original thinking on the spatiality of family time, something currently missing from research, despite the definitive role of space. Using copresence as a socio-spatial lens, the article interrogates intergenerational perspectives on time together at home during COVID-19 lockdown, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 45 families in England and Scotland. Family time in the domestic realm appears as a spatial practice resulting in purposive spaces, affective spaces, and spaces of ambivalence. Findings reveal adults’ and children’s different understandings of family time, highlighting not only the challenges that home space can present to family time, but also the significant learning opportunity that this new understanding offers to contemporary housing design.