Britain's top family chores
Parents spend an average of almost a day a week on household management, with a total of 23 hours and 45 minutes spent each on jobs including washing, cooking and childcare duties.
New research from Allianz Your Cover insurance found the top five time intensive chores those parents polled do each week are:
- Babysitting/childcare (3 hours 53 minutes)
- Cooking (3 hours 36 minutes)
- Cleaning (2 hours 49 minutes)
- Shopping (2 hours 27 minutes)
- Ironing/washing (2 hours 19 minutes)
Additional other time-consuming activities include DIY, taking out the recycling and gardening. If parents were to pay staff to carry out their chores it would cost £231 a week. However Mums and Dads are only valuing their weekly worth at £143 a week underestimating their weekly contribution by £88. Despite being a nation of hardworking parents, a quarter admit feel they do not feel appreciated by their children.
Andy James of Allianz Your Cover Insurance said: “Many parents will be surprised how much time they are spending on managing their homes and what this is worth financially. For those also working, this means very little ‘down time’ is spent relaxing as they spend four hours a day managing their home and family life. Our research found if parents were given the opportunity to pass their least favourite chore onto someone else, a quarter of Mums and Dads would spend this extra time relaxing.
Overworked and underappreciated?
The research shows that both men and women agree that women make the most valuable contribution to the smooth running of the home. Despite this only 25 per cent of women feel that their contribution is completely appreciated by their partner whereas a third of men feel that their partner completely appreciates their role at home.
Three quarters of women think their household contribution is worth more than their partner’s, and value this contribution at £166. Only 41 per cent of men think their contribution is worth the most financially valuing this at £120, significantly less than women.
Chilled out children
Both Mums and Dads agree that their children’s contribution is worth only 5 per cent to the upkeep of the house. Youngest children have been recognised as the most hardworking with a third of parents revealing they think their youngest’s input is worth the most financially compared to just a fifth who voted for the middle or oldest child.
Parents confirmed that elder teenagers aged between 15 and 18 years-old were the least appreciative of their children as 32 per cent of parents said this age group do not make them feel at all appreciated.
Andy James continues: “Our poll found that ironing, washing and cleaning are the most disliked chores which Brits would happily pass onto someone else. We urge busy parents to hand over their dusters and get their children involved in some household jobs. We also found that nearly half of Mums and Dads have caused damage whilst carrying out chores. We recommend that parents check their accidental cover on their home insurance policies as less than four in ten of our customers have opted for accidental damage cover which would ensure they are protected.”