I think it was an interview with Bob Newhart (maybe WTF), where he talked about how his dad was never home - instead he went to the bar and hung out with his buddies every night. The interviewer asked him why, and Newhart answered "I guess he didn't really like us very much" (sad, but with a funny delivery).

But, maybe we have more "family" time between dinner and bed than previous generations? I don't know. It seems to me, anecdotally, that people tend to spend more time at home in front of tv in the evenings, as opposed to hanging out at bars, for example, than may have been the standard of the past. The pubs in my neighborhood don't have the daily regulars like on Cheers....

That was my first thought, but there is also a huge increase in the amount of activities kids do these days, with also an increase in parental participation. Marginal gains over the years have added up. i.e. campaigns to spend time with your kids, PTA meetings, involvement with clubs and sports. I'm sure not all of it is positive (like extreme helicopter parenting), but for the most part it seems to be a good thing.

Weekends.

Dad used to fiddle in the basement or go golfing, now he goes to soccer practice or the park.

It's possible, because people don't work 24 hours a day and might choose to give up things like television or tablet use in order to spend time with their kids.

What? Working 8 hours a day leaves about 8 hours of freetime to spend with your kids even leaving 8 hours for sleep. Even if you change the numbers there is plenty of time to spent, it is just matter of prioritizing.

Working from home is really common these days. Almost everyone in my friends/family works from home at-least couple of days a week.

When one parent is working (or relaxing) at home all day, and the children are at school, the parent isn't spending time with the child.