Parenting Really Is A Full-Time Job

Need some time to yourself? If you’re a parent, good luck finding any. A new survey finds parents have just 32 minutes to themselves each day. A third of parents say they don’t actually stop “working” until at least 8 p.m. when parenting duties are factored in. The survey, conducted by meal delivery service Munchery, found parents who work full-time spend an average of 18 hours per week directly taking care of their kids. A quarter of parents say they spend more than 30 hours a week caring for their children. The average parent polled also said they hide from their children about four times a week to carve out “me time.” Other findings:

• The average full-time working parent spends 18 hours on average directly taking care of their kids every week. And a hectic 24% of parents spend more than 30 hours every week directly taking care of their kids in addition to other responsibilities.
• 88% of parents admit to being too busy to cook, and 96% reported that not having enough time to cook results in them indulging in less healthy food. In fact, parents are so busy that they actually skip 227 proper meals every year.
• Over half (54%) of parents say the biggest reason they get take-out is that they’re too busy. And not having proper time to cook isn’t just a strain on your diet, it can also hurt your wallet. Parents spend an average of $4,524 every year on take-out as a direct result of being too busy to cook.