People often praise working parents for their ability to juggle work and parenthood but a recent survey suggests that some parents find it harder to be a stay-at-home parent than a working parent.
The study actually makes parenthood look pretty bleak but most parents would likely tell you that it’s not.
The study, which was commissioned by AVEENO Baby, polled 1,500 UK parents and delved into false expectations parents had before their children were born and the new things they’ve learned after their kids were born.
“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. “We want to give new parents the confidence to feel they are making the right choices for their baby’s skin, so they feel more in control of this element of their new path of discovery.”
Only 31 percent of parents said that staying home with a baby is harder than working in the office.
A little less half of all parents were able to agree on some things.
About 43 percent of parents likened getting the kids ready and out of the house to a “military operation.”
Between 42 and 40 percent of parents said that parenthood allowed them to feel unconditional love for the first time, that they used baby wipes for things besides wiping butts, and that being a parent means you’re tired all the time.
But not all parents agreed about what it means to be a parent.
Between 20 and 10 percent reported that it’s impossible to not talk in a baby voice, that they call mom before the doctor, that their back always hurts, that they can get away with only showered three days a week, and that 90 percent of their social media posts are pictures of their kids.
Here are the full results of the poll:
1. Leaving the house becomes a military operation: 43 percent
2. You feel complete, unconditional love for the first time: 42 percent
3. Baby wipes are not just for baby’s bums: 41 percent
4. You will always be tired: 40 percent
5. Going to the bathroom in peace will be a thing of the past: 38 percent
6. You CAN function on four hours sleep: 37 percent
7. Quiet isn’t always good sign: 36 percent
8. Never forget the changing bag: 35 percent
9. You will never tire of staring at your baby: 35 percent
10. You will eat most of your meals with one hand: 33 percent
11. Your child’s skin is the best smell ever: 32 percent
12. Your carpets and sofas will have permanent stains: 31 percent
13. Staying at home with a baby IS harder than being in the office: 31 percent
14. Worrying will become your new hobby: 28 percent
15. You care about someone else’s bodily functions: 27 percent
16. You know who your real friends are: 27 percent
17. You’ll know how much everything costs: 25 percent
18. Your baby will have better cosmetics and clothes than you do: 23 percent
19. Nothing compares to the pain of standing on Lego with bare feet: 22 percent
20. Everything will get covered in sick: 22 percent
21. You will turn into your mother/father: 22 percent
22. You will never finish a cup of tea/coffee again: 21 percent
23. You end up Googling EVERYTHING: 21 percent
24. You will regularly be embarrassed in public: 20 percent
25. It’s impossible not to put on a ‘baby’ voice: 20 percent
26. Some spills are worse than others: 19 percent
27. You have to rely on catch-up TV: 19 percent
28. You ring your mum before a doctor: 18 percent
29. Your back will always hurt: 17 percent
30. You can get by with showering three days: 17 percent
31. A strong coffee will get you through most things: 15 percent
32. Single friends will stop inviting you to dinner parties: 14 percent
33. Sometimes a glass of wine is the only answer: 13 percent
34. Hangovers get worse: 12 percent
35. Your Instagram feed will be 90 percent pictures of your child: 10 percent
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
