32 Minutes A Day Is the Only Downtime for Busy Parents

If going to the toilet is the only “me time” you manage to reward yourself as a parent, you’re not the only one. A new study by American meal delivery service, Munchery, has found that, on average, a typical parent only has 32 minutes a day allotted for dedicated “me time”. Are we even surprised?

The Struggle Is Real

In between nappy changes, food wars, playdates, school runs, toy negotiations, and bedtime, juggling the frantic world of parenting leaves very little time for some much-needed respite. And you wonder why you’re so snippy all the time.  

The survey interviewed 2,000 mums and dads and concluded that full-time working parents spend an average of 18 hours per week directly attending to their children’s needs, while the remaining 24 per cent spend more than 30 hours per week on parent duty. The remaining hours of the day are spent hustling to get the laundry done, the house cleaned, the dinner cooked, and the dogs walked.

To carve out more time for themselves, respondents admitted to hiding in the laundry or pretending to go to the toilet just to get a bit of zen. Even a simple act of going shopping sans kids is considered a luxury outing for many exhausted parents. Yup, the struggle is certainly real.

Living On Juggle Street

While these findings will surprise absolutely no parent anywhere, they are nonetheless depressing. There’s no denying that “me time” is a valuable commodity to all living and breathing humans, but when you’re also dealing with sleepless nights, toilet training, teething, homework, night terrors, tummy troubles, and a million other time-consuming milestones, self-care is more valuable than ever.

Time For A Time-Out

If trying to manoeuvrer your already frantic routine to allow for more me-time is like trying to eat soup with a fork, there’s never been a better time to call on the help of close friends and family. If the kids are old enough, delegating menial tasks such as the laundry or vacuuming will give you those few extra minutes to put your feet up or finish that chapter. 

 

Other Newsworthy Reads

This Is The Ideal Bedtime for Parents' Mental Health

Top 10 Things Children Really Want Their Parents To Do With Them

New Study Shows How Much We Argue With Our Kids

 

Have you signed up to our newsletter? Join ellaslist to get the best family and kid-friendly events, venues, classes and things to do NEAR YOU!