Our endless working guilt: Parents confess they neglect children from Monday to Friday Over a third of parents struggle to switch off from 'work mode' Almost half worry they are not a good enough parent Parents have just 30 minutes of time to devote to their children per night New study shows you can reconnect with children in just 12 minutes Psychologists have devised a Twelve Minute Manual to help busy parents Today's working parents are riddled with guilt, a new study reveals and almost half (42 per cent) of those questioned worry they are not a good enough parent during the week. Parents devote just 30 minutes to their children after a busy day at work and feel they need at least this amount of time to reconnect with them. But the new study shows that if you turn off technology and refocus, you can reconnect with your children in just 12 minutes. The half an hour spent with children compares with more than three hours spent commuting, cooking dinner and doing household chores. According to the survey of 2,000 parents of children aged 3-18, many find it hard to switch off from work mode and spend quality time with their children. But parenting experts believe it can take just 12 minutes to fully reconnect with their children when they come home from school, giving parents enough time to find out about their day, turn off technology and share an activity together. They have responded to the findings with a Twelve Minute Manual - a booklet of 30 fun things to do with your kids to help reconnect with them. The aim of it is to help parents get the most from their time with their children. Time-poor parents spend the equivalent of seven days a year (39 minutes per day) trying to emotionally reconnect with their children and get back into the family mindset when they return home from work and school. There is no one as tough on their own parenting skills as a parent - but this study shows there is no need for parents to be so harsh One in four (25 per cent) working parents feel they cannot fit the time they want to reconnect with their child into their evenings. The survey conducted by OnePoll reveals one in 33 parents (three per cent) saying they do not feel like they spend any quality time with their kids at all during the week. Over a third of parents (37 per cent) admit they struggle to switch off from work mode at home and almost half (45 per cent) of time-pressed parents worry about chores while they are reconnecting with their kids. This crucial time when families switch off from work and school modes into becoming parents and children again has been dubbed the We-connection Time by child experts. Study says if you turn off technology and refocus, you can reconnect with your children in just 12 minutes Parenting expert and Child Psychologist Dr Claire Halsey, working with the makers of Ribena Plus who commissioned the research, says parents can actually make the switch from work to a family mindset and reconnect with their kids in just 12 minutes every evening by asking open-ended questions and sharing an activity with their child. This time then sets parents up for a family focused evening full of quality time. Claire said: 'There is no one as tough on their own parenting skills as a parent - but this study shows there is no need for parents to be so harsh. This study aims to spark the end of parental guilt 'It's hard for working parents to juggle all their responsibilities and it can feel like guilt is simply a parent's lot - but it's absolutely not. 'By using clever tactics such as a little preparation alongside use of open ended questions - such as Tell me what the best bit about your day was? - parents can reduce the time worrying about chores and work and spend more time learning about their children's day.' The research findings will be a welcome relief to UK parents, as the study shows they currently feel pressured to spend a staggering 186 minutes - over three hours - on other activities such as their commute, cooking dinner and household chores - over six times longer than they are able to devote to catching up with their children each night. Preparing and eating dinner took the longest at 44 minutes, along with 25 minutes on chores and 15 minutes answering work emails and calls. The demands are so great it leaves parents with an average of just 30 minutes of uninterrupted time with their kids each weekday evening. This leads to over two fifths (42 per cent) worrying they are not a good enough parent during the week as they feel they just cannot fit in quality time with their children. In fact parental anxiety is so great almost a quarter (24 per cent) of parents also admit they would like advice and support on how to reconnect with their kids in this time. Claire teamed up with parents to come up with ten open-ended questions to find out the most about their children's day. When asked what they wanted to know from their kids to reconnect with them after a busy day, parents said: What they did in lessons (66 per cent), their worries (58 per cent) or what their favourite part of the day was. More than a quarter (29 per cent) admitted that they just want to be told their child loves them. When asked what activities they like to do together in this time, a quarter of parents (24 per cent) like to read with their child in this time, with 11 per cent playing a game or doing crafts. Ten questions to help you find out the most about your child's day Age 3 - 4 years - What are the names of the toys you played with today? - Who is taller - mummy or your teacher? - Tell me about the best game you played today... Age 4 - 8 years - Can you act out what you did at breaktime? - Give you three guesses what I did today! - How many times have you smiled today - what made you laugh? Age 8 - 14 years - I've got a great story for you but I want one in return... you first! - Tell me some school gossip... I'm all ears! - What science project are you doing at the moment and can I help with it? - Where are you off to with your friends this week?