Multi-tasking Mums Face More Challenges at Breakfast than Business Owners
It’s not only the rich and famous like the Beckham household that has to deal with a mad rush and multi-tasking at breakfast. But while Victoria and David have been arguing it out about which parent juggles the most at breky time, new research shows that mums are the ones doing the running around in the morning.
The findings from family baker, Warburtons, reveal that between 7.17am and 8.30am each weekday morning, busy mums face a constant series of domestic tasks and chores - from tactical strategies to get their children and partners up and helping children brush their teeth and hair, to orchestrating the family breakfast, getting outfits ready and managing the school run.
It seems the majority of parents play to their strengths during the daily Breakfast routine - mums multi-task across a wide range of....
And while the scope of tasks and outcomes may differ, mums have to tackle an average of 9.8 challenges during this busy 73-minute window - compared to an average of just 4.2 tasks carried out by senior business people in their first hour and a quarter at work.
Neuropsychologist Dr David Lewis, who analysed the research findings, said: “There are three key reasons why mums typically excel at multi-tasking; firstly biology may play a part.
“Some studies have identified important differences between the sexes, in a part of the brain known as the corpus callosum. This enables the logical and creative sides of the brain to ‘talk’ to one another.
“These differences could enable women to deal with some multi-tasking challenges more effectively than men. Secondly, studies suggest that although many mums admit to finding multi-tasking stressful, they have developed superior coping strategies.
“Children are very sensitive to a mother’s mood, so it’s important not to reveal signs of the stress that multi-tasking often involves, ensuring they’re sent off to school in a relaxed and happy frame of mind. Like swans they must appear serene and calm whilst paddling madly just beneath the surface.
“And finally, because practice makes perfect, an experienced multi-tasking mum will have become expert at meeting conflicting demands on her time and patience, demands that could cause others to throw their hands up in despair,” he explains.
But while mums are busy multi-tasking at breakfast, dads face an average of just 3.3 daily domestic chores over the key family Breakfast Rush Hour period, and these are most likely to be ‘one-off’ daily tasks, which are largely unrelated to the family breakfast routine from taking out the rubbish to ensuring the family pet has been fed.
The study also revealed that just over a quarter of mums say they find the daily morning ritual of the Breakfast Rush Hour and school run more stressful than a visit from the in-laws or parents’ evening, while over half of mums admit they have to make a variety of different breakfasts for fussy family members every day.
Furthermore, and to little surprise, TV Supernanny Jo Frost is the celebrity that mums would find most helpful to have on their side at breakfast, closely followed by CBeebies kids’ favourite, Mr Tumble, and star judge on The Great British Bake Off, Paul Hollywood.
Jonathan Warburton, Chairman of Warburtons and dad of four, said: “It seems the majority of parents play to their strengths during the daily Breakfast routine - mums multi-task across a wide range of breakfast activities while dads tend to focus more on other jobs around the house.
“But there’s no doubt we have a nation of Supermums juggling a lot of domestic challenges each morning.”
The survey also revealed that the top five tasks that mums perform in the morning include preparing breakfast; helping children pack school bags, domestic chores, and helping their children brush their hair and teeth.
The research involved 1,000 mums and 500 business decision makers, including directors of SMEs, and was commissioned by Warburtons - bakers of some of the nation’s best loved breakfast products such as Warburtons Toastie and Crumpets - as part of a nationwide breakfast campaign aimed at encouraging families to share recipes and tips for managing the Breakfast Rush Hour.
The survey findings, recipes and tips will be published in a handbook in April. Mums and dads with top tips, advice and recipes for juggling the family Breakfast Rush Hour can submit them through the Warburtons Facebook page www.Facebook.com/Warburtons.
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