OnePoll conducted a study for MDLIVE that looked into how millennial mothers feel about parenting. The poll of 2028 American millennial mothers concluded that 75% of them hid their actual feelings from their families. About 73% felt pressured to act strong for their families. Another 1 in 3 was overwhelmed for the majority of the week.
The average respondents stated that they felt rewarded by their roles as parents about four times every week. However, 34% didn’t feel as rewarded, making them feel even more stressed. Among the things, the mothers worried about were their mental health (37%) and finances (40%).
Reason mothers didn’t ask for help
About 7 in 10 mothers didn’t talk to their partners about the stress they were experiencing as they didn’t think they would offer them substantial support (54%). Others avoided discussing their problems as they didn’t want to feel like failures (56%).
The study also shows that many mothers often did more than they could handle, with 4 in 5 saying they often did things by themselves as they believed it would be easier, done correctly and on time.
Mothers wish they had clones
While many mothers were willing to undertake these tasks, about 88% wished they could clone themselves due to burnout (76%). The average participant wished they had four clones to take up their tasks.
The chores the mothers would assign to the clones include chauffeurs to take care of the needs of the family (28%), fixing things in the house (30%), being tutors (31%), being personal assistants (36%), babysitting (38%), and cleaning the house (56%).
About 57% of respondents felt like failures whenever they asked for help. Another 67% didn’t want to be a burden when they talked to their families about their stress. About 61% didn’t think they could seek assistance from anyone whenever needed. Fortunately, 63% had already sought mental health assistance.
About 74% of the mother believed they should take time to themselves to relax. However, 2 in 3 admitted feeling guilty whenever they took time to themselves. Despite this, more mothers need to realise that there is nothing selfish about taking care of themselves, which could benefit them and their families.
