Survey Finds That Stay-At-Home Parents Work Harder Than Those Who Go To Work

These days, parenting methods are more varied than ever before. In the not so distant past, it was pretty much expected that women would stay at home with their children while their partners went out to work. But that's no longer the case, and in recent years, the number of self-proclaimed stay-at-home dads has grown exponentially.

However, because so many parents are opting to, well, be parents and work full time, this has led many stay-at-home parents being branded "lazy". In short, people view it as only having one job instead of two.

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But writing as someone who was raised by a stay-at-home mom, I can attest to the fact that a parent's decision to be with their children at all times isn't always motivated by a desire not to have two jobs - or because staying at home is a walk in the park. It's not. Every situation is different.

For example, my mom suffered physically during pregnancy and used the time afterword to recuperate, only to fall sicker and eventually become unable to work.

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Now, a new survey has turned these beliefs about stay-at-home parents on their heads by claiming that they work harder than those who do both. In a survey of around 1,500 British parents by AVEENO® Baby, 31% said working was easier than staying at home.

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"Becoming a parent is an amazing experience, but we understand that entering this new chapter of life can also bring with it a great deal of stress and worry, so we wanted to discover more about what new parents experience in the first few years, what they wish they had known and how best we can support them," AVEENO® Baby skin expert Rebecca Bennett said to the Sun UK.

This survey, however, did a lot more than just reveal people's attitudes towards being a working parent versus staying at home. It provided an insight into just how demanding a job parenting is in general.

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For example, 22% of respondents said that since having a child, they believe that they'll never get to finish a cup of tea again. Whereas 19% said that they could only watch TV on catchup because they're so busy.

Perhaps most the relatable finding of all was that 48% never expected leaving the house to become a nigh impossible task as soon as they had a child.

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But before you let these findings put you off becoming a parent, or having any more kids, it's not all doom and gloom.

Of those surveyed, 48% said that having a family was the "perfect experience" and 41% attested to having a stronger relationship with their partner after having a child.

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That being said, 55% did admit that being a parent was "hard work", even with a solid support network.

The survey also revealed that parents these days have a new form of pressure on them: social media. Because it's used to predominately display people's highlight reels, 71% said that it made them feel competitive about their family and a further 22% said it made them worry about not being the "perfect parent".