Children are one of the most beautiful things in the world, but the added load they bring with them is immense. And even environmentally speaking, children are not that healthy a lifestyle choice, given the number of resources required to keep a child healthy and happy. Even the socio-economic aftermath of having a child is immense and given the current rate of inflation, very soon, rearing kids will become a luxury very few will be able to afford.
A recent mom survey revealed another aspect of this conundrum: rearing children is a stressful job. And given the way our patriarchal societies have helped us reach here, the main burden of rearing children still falls on female shoulders.
And mothers are superheroes; we all know that. TODAY Parents and Insight Express had done a survey in 2013 on moms and the results have resurfaced.
The survey was done online, on 7164 moms, and the results concern a number of children per mother that results in the most stress.
One of the most interesting findings was that moms, about 75 % of them, suffer from stress regarding their self-expectations and the expectations of others.
So in reality, moms do judge themselves quite harshly. At this point, it is imperative that I say, tell your mom you love her more than usual, because she has and is going through hell for you.
Anyway, continuing about the survey, a so-called normal mom faces an 8.5/10 level stress on a daily basis.
There are shrinks who actually specialise in “mom stress”.
So you can see just how serious this issue is; a lesson we all should learn from before we go about taking our moms for granted.
Here are some more conclusions are drawn from the mom survey:
1. Moms of three kids seem to be the most stressed, even more than moms who have two or four kids.
2. About 46% of mothers blame their partners/husbands for most of their stress instead of their kids.
3. 72% of moms are stressed about the stress they face.
4. 60% of moms said that raising a daughter is far more stressful than raising a boy.
5. 90% of moms are stressed about their appearance.
6. 60% also stress out about the fact that they have no time to do anything.
7. Ironically, moms with four kids report less stress than usual.
It seems that three might work out for everything but not for the number of kids you should have.
If you are a stressed-out mother yourself, however, here are some things you should try out for yourself.
1. Spend some alone time, especially if it is time spent doing healthy things like working out.
2. Interact and socialise with other mothers. Make yourself surrounded by helpful people going through similar lives.
3. Take a day off once in a while. Use all the help you can.
4. Find hobbies like reading, gardening, or fish-keeping.
5. Hot water baths every night to soothe your nerves.
6. Stay strong. You are the best!
