News Flash: Moms Work Hardby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 30 Aug 2008 07:29 AM Subtitle: DUH! A new European poll studying the amount of work an average mother completes in a day yielded some less than shocking results. (What surprised me more is why they conducted the poll in the first place.) According to the new survey, the average mother is overworked. Now, how many of us really needed an official poll to come to that conclusion? The survey found that the average mother works five-and-a-half hours a day at a paid job but also spends 45 minutes preparing meals, 42 minutes completing household chores, and 31 minutes shopping for groceries. Add to that 23 minutes running errands, 36 minutes ferrying children to and from school and an additional 22 minutes per day driving children to and from after-school activities, sporting events, friends' homes or stores. When she gets home, the poll found that the average mother then spends two hours and 47 minutes playing with her children to keep them entertained. When all is said and done the average mother is then left with a mere 2 hours and 14 minutes for alone time. And 65% say that time only really begins once they finally crawl into bed. The poll queried 2,000 mothers from across the United Kingdom and nearly 90% of them revealed that the only way to get everything done in a single day is to multi-task. Even so 16% of mothers say it's impossible to accomplish all their tasks so they have resorted to hiring someone to help with household chores. In their conclusion the authors of the survey wrote: "These results prove that modern mums have to be more like wonder women to get everything done nowadays." Again: DUH! And in what may be the least shocking conclusion made by the survey: "Women wish they had more time to themselves." Talk about overstating the obvious. Sarcasm aside, you have to wonder about all the mothers, who the surveyed didn't reach. What of the single moms, who work three minimum wage jobs and rely on public transportation to get to each of them just to make enough money to feed and clothe her children? And what of the mothers, who were given the challenge of raising children with autism, learning disabilities or who are deaf or blind? And what of the moms, whose lives consist of daily trips to the hospital dealing with one child who is battling cancer or some other life threatening disease, maintaining a house, making meals, and being there physically and emotionally for her other healthy children? I wonder how much "me time" those moms have? Related Articles: A Mother's View from the Pool-Bikinis on Babies? A Mother's View from the Pool: Why are you Wearing Crocs in the Water?
Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevantparenting tags User Comments MomsHelper (6) 30 Aug 2008 09:53 AMToday, while working at the bank, one of my customers told me that after twenty years of employment, she was fired because of budget cuts. You could imagine the devastation in her eyes when she let me know she was older and had no job prospects for the future; however she is not old enough to retire. I told her about our website www.Helpformommy.com, a place where families can place their jobs at no cost. We too believe this economy has gotten to be a heavy load for most of us to bear. I let her know that www.Helpformommy.com can help anyone, anywhere. To be patient as we add link that connect to each state and their top cities. She can be sure she will be able to find work in her city shortly. It was such a relief for me that I was able to let her know that we are working on a plan to connect her with needed families who can afford to pay for help. Won't you continue to join us in connecting with your community and placing your profile on www.Helpformommy.com? My husband and I are just two people with a big dream. Our dream is to make sure every family finds the help they need. We have even started a new feature on www.Helpformommy.com called "Babysitter Swap" and "Barter" so families can find help without having to pay cash for compensation. As we look to find innovative ways to keep this website going, we appreciate your support and participation in helping to make someone's day brighter by providing the help that is needed or a job. Take care, and remember, we need www.Helpformommy.com too! Just like you, with two kids to raise; ages 6 & 9, we find we hardly ever slow down to smell the roses. Have a great weekend.  Dale Harcombe |
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