Study says mums of THREE kids are the most stressed
Wow
Whether you have one kid or six, there’s times when parenting is tough no matter what.
But a US study has found that having three kids is the peak of stress for a mother.
According to a TODAY Parents survey of more than 7000 mums, mothers of three children stress more than mums of one or two, while mothers of four or more children actually report lower stress levels.
Once you get to four or more children, life seems to get a bit easier.
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“You always hear about the mommy wars, but I feel like we’re judging ourselves more harshly than anyone else,” said Jill Smokler from Scary Mommy.
She has three kids, and agrees it’s the most stressful number. “Going from one to two was an easy, breezy transition,” she said.
“Two to three, everything was turned upside down. I did not feel like I had it together...just crossing the street and not being able to physically hold all their hands I found tremendously stressful.”
Other insights revealed in the study include 60 per cent of mums saying their biggest source of stress was struggling to keep on top of everything they had to do.
Sixty per cent of mums also said raising girls is more stressful than raising boys.
Perhaps William and Kate should go for that fourth baby after all!
What do you think?
Nicola Conville has worked as a journalist and editor for more than 20 years across a wide range of print and online publications. Her areas of expertise are parenting, health and travel. She has two children; Lucy, age eight, and Nathan, age five.
