Motherhood is something that many would describe as being a full-time job. But new research has confirmed what every parent already knows. It's actually a lot more work than a traditional 9-5 job.
The survey asked 2000 American moms of children aged 5 to 12, to analyze their weekly schedule. The study revealed that the average mom will start the day very early at 6:23 AM and continue to perform motherly duties until 8:31 PM. So not only a mother's role is more than a full-time job, it makes a mother's working week a massive 98 hours of work or 2.5 times more than the average job.
This amount of working hours are filled with never-ending tasks and to-do lists. According to some studies a mother's average morning involves remembering up to 26 tasks, including:
1. Brushing their kids' teeth
2. Having clean uniforms ready
3. Remembering any doctor/ dentist/ opticians appointments
4. Getting the kids to school on time
5. Keeping on top of calendar dates classmates birthdays/ anniversaries/ important dates
6. Laundry
7. Making kids' breakfast
8. Remember lunch boxes/ dinner money
9. Making sure they have a good meal to come home to
10. Making sure the cupboards are stocked
11. Getting the children to bed on time so they are not tired in the morning
12. Making sure they actually eat their breakfast
13. Making sure they take a drink to school
14. Ironing
15. Reading homework/ preparing kids for tests
16. If it is raining making sure they have a raincoat
17. Remembering P.E. kit and other essentials
18. Permission Slips
19. Remembering to brush the children's hair
20. Making sure they take their homework into school
21. Putting sun cream on them before they go to school
22. Make sure they've gone to the toilet before getting in the car
23. Making sure the pets are fed
24. Keep on top of uniform/ patch up holes
25. Remembering after school clubs
26. Keeping on top of daily medications/ vitamins/ supplements
So in a 14 hour work day, with this many things to do, surely there are plenty of breaks, right? But actually, there aren't! The surveyed moms said that they had just around one hour and seven minutes per day for themselves, which is a little more than a lunch break.
With such a hectic schedule, it’s no wonder that from time to time the superhero moms get overwhelmed. Research shows that eight in ten moms are finding it hard to remember every day's tasks and one in eight admitted they had forgotten to pick up their child from school. 85 percent of the surveyed moms said that their workload can become “too much” with Mondays, the toughest day of the week.
“The results of the survey highlight just how demanding the role of mom can be and the non-stop barrage of tasks it consists of”, said Casey Lewis, health and nutrition lead for the study.
Hopefully, the results of this research will help moms manage their schedules better and make them – or those around them! – aware that even though they might have superhero powers, they still should get a little better deserved time for themselves.
