For the sake of their mental health, mothers should stop having babies after kid number two, this survey says. Bad luck to anyone who has triplets.
Thereโs no denying that child raising is a stressful undertaking. And in the majority of households around the world, mothers have it the worst.
They often get lumbered with the majority of the parental responsibilities, no matter the time of day.
And thatโs not just conjecture. There have been empirical studies that demonstrate, without a shadow of a doubt, just how stressed moms are.
One of the most telling surveys ever conducted gives a strong piece of advice to anyone wondering how many children they should have.
And that advice is to stop after two, for the sake of your mindfulness!
The survey in question came from Today Parents. It questioned over 7,000 moms across the USA and asked them what they had found most stressful about parenthood.
Their research showed one thing time and time again: The mothers who had had three kids were by far the most stressed out.
This isnโt to say that moms of one or two children arenโt stressed out. The report found that they are. In fact, on average, moms are an eight and a half out of 10 stressed.
Itโs just that the third child pushes that eight and a half all the way to a 10 more often than not.
But by far the most stressful thing to have is three girls.
The study found that 60% of mothers stress over girls much more than boys.
But what are mothers, whether their children are boys, girls or boys and girls, most stressed about?
The survey was overwhelmingly consistent with this answer: They think that there arenโt enough hours in the day to complete everything.
That the stress increases with three kids makes sense with this fact. After all, thereโs three times as much stuff to organize every single day.
But what if a mother does have three kids. Is there a way that they can alleviate their stress?
It turns out that the survey suggests that yes, they can. But it isnโt what youโd expect.
The obvious and slightly cruel joke answer that springs to mind with the above question is that the mom could just give one of the kids up. But the real answer is actually the exact opposite.
In fact, if a mother of three wants to reduce her stress levels, then they should have a fourth kid.
Thatโs a really weird answer, and most people would think that adding a new kid to the mix would increase stress levels much more. But that apparently isnโt the case.
In the survey, the researchers discovered that mothers of four were consistently less stressed than mothers of three.
It seems that when a mother has more than three kids, they calm down. Perhaps they get the feeling that theyโre experts at child rearing, or perhaps their partners actually start taking up more of the responsibilities. Who knows?
The partnersโ actions could actually be the answer, looking at the other survey results. The survey also found that 46% of mothers are more stressed out by their husbands than their children!
But the survey didnโt ask the mothers of four why they were less stressed, so the above is just speculation.
The reasons why mothers of four are less stressed than mothers of three definitely deserves its own survey.
So, Today, the world is waiting for the answer to this strange finding.
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