Significantly more mothers (61 per cent) than fathers (42 per cent) find it challenging to meet societal standards of good parenting, a report on parenting has found.
The Mammies and Daddies report published on Wednesday reveals the stark impact of parenting in Ireland.
Among the key themes covered in the report include how parents perceive their own value and worth, how they deem the family unit to value them, and, more broadly, how they feel society values their role.
Revealingly, only a very small percentage of parents (4 per cent) find it very easy to align with societal perceptions and pressures of being a good parent.
According to the research, conducted by Coyne Research for Aldi Ireland, almost two thirds of parents (65 per cent) have felt the financial pinch of parenting, citing their finances having been negatively impacted since becoming a parent.
A starker finding shows that more than four in five parents (82 per cent) are spending less than 10 per cent of their time per week on hobbies and personal past times, which demonstrates a recurring theme of parents’ inability to find “me time” for themselves due to their parenting role in the household.
More than half of parents surveyed (55 per cent) said that since becoming a parent their physical health has got worse.
Some 63 per cent of these are women, which points to the disproportionate toll that parenthood takes on mothers.
Of all those surveyed, just 15 per cent said their physical health has improved.
The report findings are based on a research study of 1,000 mums and dads of kids aged up to 12 carried out by Coyne Research to better understand the economic, emotional and societal impact of being a parent.
The report is being launched on Wednesday at the Museum of Literature Ireland (MoLi).
