SINGAPORE -- Weekends are not occasions for freewheeling play for Singapore children who spend even more time on schoolwork during the two days than during the week, a survey showed recently.

The ****Straits Times**** poll found an 11-year-old here spends 2.2 hours doing homework on Saturdays and Sundays, compared to 1.8 hours on a weekday.

Homework is just the tip of the iceberg for primary 5 pupils.

Those who take tutoring lessons spend as much time on the weekend, 1.7 hours, on those assignments as on a school day, the survey said.

Nearly seven in 10 go back to school on Saturday for co-curricular activities or remedial classes, sometimes both.

Even on Sunday, study is never far from their minds. Following television, it emerges second among the activities that day.

Most of the youngsters, however, do not regard themselves as too stressed, with three in five saying they have enough free time, DPA reported.

More than 25 percent, those attending top schools, make do with less than one hour free daily while others managed about two.

Associate Professor Esther Tan expressed concern children may not be spending enough time with their families.

"Sundays should be used for family bonding, for parents to spend time with their children after a busy week," Tan, head of psychological studies at the National Institute of Education, was quoted as saying.

"Spending time with them does not mean sitting next to them and making sure they do their homework," she added.