More and more UK parents are becoming too busy to take their children on day trips, new research shows.

The high price of such trips, with the average cost being £50, combined with the increasingly hectic work schedule of parents, mean that families are able to spend less time getting away than in the past.

According to a YouGov survey of 2,000 adults, on behalf of the 4Children charity, 62pc of people believe that family day trips are less common today than 20 years ago.

Research conducted previously shows that families spend no more than 49 minutes a day together, which adds up to about five hours a week.

But Anne Longfield, the chief executive of 4Children, believes that day trips and holidays can help families stay together when things are tough.

She said that, while work and financial pressures can mean that it is tough for families to spend time together, day trips and holidays allow parents and children “to reconnect, especially for those families experiencing tough times”.

Such days, she added “can strengthen bonds and build shared family experiences and memories that we know are so important in keeping families strong and together”.

According to the survey, 12pc of adults thought families went on more day outings together than 20 years ago, 16 per cent thought there had not been much change, while 62 per cent thought family days out were less common.

Family day trips are becoming a dying tradition as parents struggle to find the time and money to take their children out.

A survey of 2,000 adults by YouGov found that 62% thought that family day trips were less common today than they were 20 years ago.