Why Mothers Feel More Stressed Than Fathers When Caring For Children

Without a doubt, some mothers are more stressed than others. But some studies show that none of them are less stressed than dads. Apparently, fathers don’t suffer as much as mothers when they need to care for their children. Scientific results indicate that women tend to be more unhappy with their responsibilities towards their children. Why does it happen? Do you agree with this?

It is nothing new that creation involves a series of exhausting commitments. Routine, obligations and lack of time for yourself can be stressful factors. However, this seems to be much more complicated for women than for men. In particular, we believe that this data has to do with the need to seek perfection and the fact that women do not receive help.

What happens when two people who have the same obligations are not in tune? Chances are, someone else will get most of the work. Realizing that you don’t get help and that you end up doing everything yourself is stressful in itself.

Also, when it comes to parenting, most parents don’t take care of their children for a long time. Therefore, being something temporary, it is not stressful. They know that when Mom arrives they’ll pass the position of command, but the opposite is not true. When Mom is busy with the kids, Dad’s arrival doesn’t change the situation at all.

What do the data say about stressed mothers?

Cornell US University conducted a survey through the Minnesota City Center. The study began by looking at the amount of time both men and women spend caring for their children. As a result, it was enough to be aware of the absurd differences to get an idea about the subject.

According to the survey results, women not only spend more time, but manage an exhausting process. If it were just a simple and completely satisfying task, the time spent in carrying out the activities should not affect our nerves. However, in this case, it was observed that women are clearly stressed and less happy than men.

The researchers analyzed at least 12,000 cases. Aspects such as the parents’ feeling according to time were evaluated over three years of research. These aspects reflected the use of time and the type of activities that mothers and fathers performed. The environment was also taken into account.

Due to the accumulation of most responsibilities, the time to enjoy relaxing moments with children was shorter for women. However, the time for themselves was even shorter. Fathers tend to keep their leisure time more often than mothers.

Mothers have less fun with their children

Let’s imagine the following situation: a father comes home after an exhausting day at work; while the mother prepares dinner and the children watch television, what does the father do? He has the option to rest and sit with his children for a while.

However, the mother doesn’t have time for that. She will continue cooking, then serving and then tidying up the kitchen. For that, she will have accumulated the stress with the housework, with the children’s duties and perhaps with her own work as well. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to enjoy it with the little ones and perhaps not even her mate.

This type of situation can be repeated at different levels. When a parent needs to take care of their child, they are likely to take them to a movie, go out for ice cream, or just play in the backyard. However, the mother cannot act that way. She keeps working so that others can have a happy life.

“When mothers are with their children, they are usually alone. When dads are with their children, they probably have other adults who can provide support nearby. This helps to understand why dads are less stressed with their children”

-Ann Meier. Sociologist –

It is also common for mothers themselves to ask their partner to take the children for a walk in the park while she does the laundry or tidy up the house. As always, sacrificing ourselves for the family, we end up unhappy with something that actually gives us a lot of pleasure.

Being a mother doesn’t make us unhappy, it’s the way we deal with motherhood that does it.  The demands on ourselves and the need that our children do not lack anything are aspects that end up taking away our time to enjoy relaxing and fun moments with the little ones.