Someone once said that you can’t put a price on motherhood, but then Forbes did a study and proved that yes, in fact, you can. According to Forbes, the average stay-at-home mom (read: non-working) should earn a salary of $115,000 per year. If you think that sounds like a lot of money for someone who doesn’t, well, “work,” consider everything that the average mom does on a daily basis. If you’re not a mom, and if you, like most people, didn’t pay attention to all that your mother did for you growing up, here’s a rundown of the hours a SAHM spends on various tasks throughout the day:
- 13.2 hours spent as a “day-care” teacher
- 3.9 hours spent as the “household CEO”
- 14.1 hours spent as a “chef”
- 7.6 hours spent as a “psychologist”
- 9.5 hours spent as a “computer operator”
- 7.8 hours spent as a “janitor”
- 7.8 hours spent as the family “cheauffer”
- 22 hours spent as a housekeeper, with approximately 6.6 of those hours spent on laundry
Without factoring in a recognized full-time job, that is a grand total of 85.9 hours per week. If a mom were to be paid at what a “professional” who performed each of those jobs were to get paid (assuming minimum wage for each job), she would be bringing home $115,000.
Now, let’s talk about the working mom…
The average American worker spends 40 to 50 hours per week either at work or commuting to work, which is already a good portion of a person’s life. However, to a working mom, 40 to 50 hours a week is nothing, because really, her day never ends.
As soon as she gets off work, she goes to pick up the kids from the sitter. From there, she drops them off at soccer/ballet/baseball/hockey/hobby horse practice, runs to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner, goes back to practice pick up her pride and joy, goes home, starts dinner, runs baths, helps with homework, serves dinner, washes up after dinner, runs a load of laundry and finally, blessedly, puts the kids to bed. It is only then that she has a time for a glass of wine and a few pages of her book, but let’s be honest, she doesn’t get past page 1 without her eyes betraying her.
Before you get mad DADs, know that research doesn’t lie.
A recent Welch’s study followed 2,000 American working moms with children between the ages of 5 and 12. Mothers of the study shared the tools, techniques and resources they use to manage their busy schedules and to ensure that everyone, including their husbands, is taken care of.
The study concluded that it is the norm, and not the exception, for working mothers to do the grocery shopping, juggle schedules, organize various activities, strategize, delegate, cook, clean and manage the entire household in addition to a full-time job. These moms, on average, get up at 6:23 AM and don’t stop until 8:30 PM (obviously, these moms have kids who go to sleep at bedtime), making that a grand total of 98 hours “on the clock,” so to speak, not including weekends.
For those of you who are working mothers, this doesn’t surprise you, but looking at your contributions in terms of hours can be a bit daunting, and it would explain why those dark circles haven’t left your under-eyes since the day your little one was born.
Of course, moms don’t do everything alone. Many have partners to help with the dishes, or to cook dinner a few times a week, or even to run the kids to and from soccer practice. But the truth is that even when a mom does have help, she’s still worrying about the next thing, and catching up on tasks that have fallen behind, and strategizing for how the next day can run a little more smoothly than today. It’s called The Mom Burden. Look it up.
As if 98 hours of non-stop work isn’t enough, the study found that the average working mom gets about an hour and seven minutes to herself each day, which approximates to seven hours and 49 minutes of alone time each week. Go ahead moms, let those tears flow. The truth ain’t easy.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In 18 short years (or maybe less, depending on how old and/or independent your children are), your workload will decrease by half, which is pretty much like retirement. While the rest of the working world is complaining about having to work a 40 hour work week, you can push 50 hours and still thrive–sans the bags under your eyes.
In the meantime, take solace in your wine, Netflix and your dreams about finishing a book again one day. Invest in those babysitters, take advantage of willing grandparents and, you know, take care of yourself. You deserve some TLC too.
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