Father has time for idle talk (6)
I believe the answer is:
patter
'idle talk' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'father has time' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pater' (old-fashioned term for father).
'has' is an insertion indicator.
'time' becomes 't' (abbreviation).
'pater' going around 't' is 'PATTER'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for patter that I've seen before include "Salesperson's talk" , "Light tapping sounds as of little feet" , "Rapid glib speech, perhaps from salesman" , "Quickly take steps" , "Sound of quick light taps, rain or little feet" .)