There are many reasons why moms experience stress, but a survey has focused on the number of children a mom has and how it can affect her stress levels.
Interestingly, there seems to be one magic number of children that equals higher stress levels in moms.
We all know that moms experience stress.
Have you ever spotted a mom out in the wild who looks like she actually has it together? The reason might be because of how many children she has.
A survey conducted by “Today” in 2013, found that moms with three children were the most stressed.
The survey recorded data from more than 7,000 American moms. Moms of three reported higher stress levels on average than moms with one or two children.
When you think about it, it makes sense.
Once you have three kids, it means you and your partner are officially outnumbered. It can be harder for parents to equally divide work related to the children with this number.
Interestingly, moms with four children actually reported lower levels of stress than moms of three.
It seems that moms of four or more have accepted the chaos of motherhood and are more zen about it.
One psychiatrist offered insight into why moms of four are actually less stressed even though they have more kids.
“The more children you have, the more confident you become in your parenting abilities,” said Dr. Janet Taylor. “You have to let go… and then you’re just thankful when they all get to school on time.”
Besides the number of children, moms surveyed ranked issues related to money and work as stress inducers.
It seems that many moms struggle with finding the right work-life balance.
Another surprising source of stress for moms? Their husbands.
That’s right. The survey reported that many moms feel like their husbands act like another child that they need to take care of.
And for many women surveyed, a lot of their stress comes from the pressure they put on themselves.
According to the moms in the survey, 75% of them said they felt more stressed by their own pressure to be perfect compared to the pressure they face from other moms.
The important thing to keep in mind is that the average stress level reported by all moms in the survey was an 8.5 out of 10.
Remember to take time for yourself and de-stress when you can!