While half insist they would love to supplement the teaching done in school and by childminders, research found parents struggle to find enough time.
Three in five working parents complain they are too tired to show their children how to brush their teeth, read and safely cross the road, the Daily Mail reported.
The study found that 55 per cent of working parents blame their tiredness on long working hours.
Around six in 10 say doing the washing and cleaning takes priority over things such as teaching their youngsters to dress themselves and learn days of the week and months of the year.
In the study of 1,000 British parents, more than 70 per cent admit feeling under pressure to have a career, a nice house and 'well-spoken and intelligent children'.
Two-thirds of parents (66 per cent) say they would love to spend more quality time with their kids.
The report released by parenting website yano.Co.Uk, found the three skills parents most want their children to learn are reading (73 per cent), writing (66 per cent) and learning to cross the road safely (45 per cent).
Nearly half (47 per cent) say the work being done by teacher at school is, in itself, insufficient and so they are desperate to add to this.
However, more than a quarter of parents say they spend less than 20 minutes a night reading with their child.
Almost half admit this is insufficient and feel guilty about it.
"This study shows parents are time-poor, but most would relish the chance to spend more quality time teaching their kids these skills," Ann-Marie McKimm, founder of Yano, said.
"We would encourage the government and employers to consider more flexible working practices for parents, not just in the first year of a baby's life - but throughout their schooling years," McKimm said.
"We're also keen to see schools and nurseries working together with parents to help nurture some of these vital life skills. The most important thing is to work together to produce happy and confident children," McKimm added.
