It will likely come as no surprise to moms out there that the actual job of being a mom is much more than a 9-to-5 workload. According to a recent survey, a mothers work works out to approximately 2.5 full-time jobs.
Starting at 6:23 a.m. and wrapping up around 8:30 p.m., a mother puts in roughly 98 hours of work a week, according to the survey of 2,000 moms conducted by Welchs.
Is it wrong that I love information like this? Its so validating to have someone objectively say, Wow, moms are some of (if not the) hardest workers out here!
I do, however, have a couple questions about this survey:
1. Most participants said they were done with all their tasks and motherly duties by 8:30 at night. I call shenanigans! I dont know any mothers who are really all done ever, and definitely not this early in the evening when you might even have enough energy to actually do something for your own enjoyment. If Im watching a show in Netflix, Im probably ordering my groceries online for the next days pickup. If Im relaxing with my husband, you can bet were talking about who is picking up from soccer this week or what were going to do about so-and-sos bad attitude about chores. And even after bedtime, a mom is never really "off the clock" thanks to bad dreams, water emergencies and the nightly excitement of some weird, new piece of your child's body he or she discovers after 10 p.m. The work is never done.
2. The survey also revealed that most moms get about 1 hour and 7 minutes every day of time to herself. Again, Id like to see the facts on this. Does this count when youre hiding in the pantry, eating a Cadbury Mini-Egg from your secret stash? Does it count taking a shower, when you are alone, except there is a child watching you asking why your belly button looks so weird? Or maybe they are talking about when youre trying to use the bathroom while little fingers sneak under the door and voices yell, Mom, Mom, are you in there? Mom! Im not quite sure those moments count as actual alone time.
3. And finally, this survey was of mothers who had children between the ages of 5-12, which may help explain some of my earlier concerns because these are school-aged kids. When I reach that stage of life, maybe I will actually get an hour of honest-to-goodness solitude a day (a mom can dream!). But Id love to see this number for moms of little ones. You know, the ones who are up at 3 a.m. with dirty diapers or who find it hilarious to throw/break/spill everything they can get their small, destructive hands on. If youre like me, and youre still in the chaos of these infant and toddler years, 98 hours a week seems like a pipe dream.
So, this is the point in my column where I usually say something heartwarming to bring it all together because being a mom is all worth it in the end. Well, heres the thing: It is. Of course it is. Moms wouldnt do it if it werent. We will gladly give those 98 hours (and more!) to our families and our children because we love them and thats what we signed up for when we took on the title of mom.
But theres also no sugarcoating the fact that its hard. Its constant. And Im just glad that this survey gives a nod to moms and the hard work were putting in that often goes unseen and unappreciated and uncalculated.
So to all the moms sneaking treats in the pantry during their alone time and putting in way more hours than even this survey suggests, keep it up. And then, maybe take a little break now and again because you deserve it more than anyone.
Starting at 6:23 a.m. and wrapping up around 8:30 p.m., a mother puts in roughly 98 hours of work a week, according to the survey of 2,000 moms conducted by Welchs.
Is it wrong that I love information like this? Its so validating to have someone objectively say, Wow, moms are some of (if not the) hardest workers out here!
I do, however, have a couple questions about this survey:
1. Most participants said they were done with all their tasks and motherly duties by 8:30 at night. I call shenanigans! I dont know any mothers who are really all done ever, and definitely not this early in the evening when you might even have enough energy to actually do something for your own enjoyment. If Im watching a show in Netflix, Im probably ordering my groceries online for the next days pickup. If Im relaxing with my husband, you can bet were talking about who is picking up from soccer this week or what were going to do about so-and-sos bad attitude about chores. And even after bedtime, a mom is never really "off the clock" thanks to bad dreams, water emergencies and the nightly excitement of some weird, new piece of your child's body he or she discovers after 10 p.m. The work is never done.
2. The survey also revealed that most moms get about 1 hour and 7 minutes every day of time to herself. Again, Id like to see the facts on this. Does this count when youre hiding in the pantry, eating a Cadbury Mini-Egg from your secret stash? Does it count taking a shower, when you are alone, except there is a child watching you asking why your belly button looks so weird? Or maybe they are talking about when youre trying to use the bathroom while little fingers sneak under the door and voices yell, Mom, Mom, are you in there? Mom! Im not quite sure those moments count as actual alone time.
3. And finally, this survey was of mothers who had children between the ages of 5-12, which may help explain some of my earlier concerns because these are school-aged kids. When I reach that stage of life, maybe I will actually get an hour of honest-to-goodness solitude a day (a mom can dream!). But Id love to see this number for moms of little ones. You know, the ones who are up at 3 a.m. with dirty diapers or who find it hilarious to throw/break/spill everything they can get their small, destructive hands on. If youre like me, and youre still in the chaos of these infant and toddler years, 98 hours a week seems like a pipe dream.
So, this is the point in my column where I usually say something heartwarming to bring it all together because being a mom is all worth it in the end. Well, heres the thing: It is. Of course it is. Moms wouldnt do it if it werent. We will gladly give those 98 hours (and more!) to our families and our children because we love them and thats what we signed up for when we took on the title of mom.
But theres also no sugarcoating the fact that its hard. Its constant. And Im just glad that this survey gives a nod to moms and the hard work were putting in that often goes unseen and unappreciated and uncalculated.
So to all the moms sneaking treats in the pantry during their alone time and putting in way more hours than even this survey suggests, keep it up. And then, maybe take a little break now and again because you deserve it more than anyone.