Parenting, Housework, Employment and Not Enough Hours in the Day

If you're a mother who feels like she is constantly picking up after everyone else, you probably are!

According to a recent facts sheet released by the Australian Institute of Family Studies to support National Families Week 2007, mothers with a child under 5 spend an average of 23 hours a week doing housework. And it doesn't end when the kids go to school. The figures indicate that mums with a youngest child 5-14 years old are still putting in 20 hours a week on household chores.

Dads aren't getting off the hook either with most contributing an additional 6 hours each week to the housework.

You'd think we all lived in spotless homes! Still, I can attest to the fact that one can clean all day and still have it look the same as it did when you first started just 10 short minutes after the kids walk in the door.

Considering that,
38% of mothers with an infant are employed
54% of mothers with a 4-5 year old are employed, and
the employment rates of fathers with an infant and those with a 4-5 year old are both over 90%.

it is no surprise we are also feeling rushed and pressured for time; a significant source of stress for families.