JOIN USShopping with children, getting them ready for bed and going on long car journeys are among the most hated tasks carried out by mothers, according to a new UK study.
The study of 2,000 mothers in the UK found that weekly shopping with kids, full of tantrums and relentless requests for chocolate and biscuits, topped the list as the most stressful event for mothers, the Daily Mail reported.
Meal times also proved tricky, as did getting young kids to travel in the car, getting them dressed, and providing entertainment on rainy days - all of which leave mothers feeling stressed at least three times a day. “Being a parent can be testing at the best of times, but it seems there are certain situations which are worse than others,” a spokesman for Ford retail, who commissioned the research, said.
“Traveling with young children is clearly a key stress factor - whether mothers are struggling to get young children in and out of car seats, entertaining them on long journeys or dealing with traffic jams, the issues are apparent,” the spokesman said.
With bath times, getting children dressed and birthday parties ranking high on the list too, more than one in 20 mothers admit to feeling stressed every minute of the day.
Forty per cent of moms also revealed that keeping to a schedule on a busy weekday morning is the most stressful part of their week.
However, 41 per cent of parents also confided that stress helps to motivate them, with 82 per cent saying that all is forgotten with a smile or cuddle from their kids. The list of top 20 stressful situations for a mother included doing the weekly shop, bedtime and long car journeys among the top three.
Getting children to eat certain foods was at the 4th place while going to someone’s house where they don’t have children came 5th. Being stuck in a traffic jam was the 6th most stressful situation closely followed by meal times (7th), entertaining children on a rainy day (8th), getting kids in and out of the car (9th), getting children dressed in the mornings (10th) and bath time (11th). Busy attractions and days out is the 12th most stressful situation and even packing for a holiday was at 13th place.Cleaning children’s teeth stood 14th in the list and shopping for new clothes at 15th. Getting children to eat their food (16th), a child’s birthday party (17th), illness (18th) also made it to the list.