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NYSLEEP by Tyler Schmall
New York office - 646-873-7565 / usnews@swns.com
Trying to wash clothes in the toilet, pouring baby formula into their coffee, and texting their boss thinking it was their partner's number are among the funniest things parents admit to doing when they’re tired and burnt out.
Taking a shower fully clothed, making a phone call on the TV remote, and leaving the house completely naked also top the amusing list.
While some tired parents may identify with those who say they've spent time waiting for a stop sign to turn green, started cooking dinner at breakfast time and even driven to their workplace... with the kids still in the back of the car.
A new study of 2,000 parents found that parenting can be flat out exhausting, and it’s basically its own full-time job.
According to the study, the average parent spends over 33 hours a week directly on parenting-related tasks, such as taking the kids to school/activities, playing, and cooking meals.
And with the 73 percent of parents who are also employed spending another 36 hours at work, the results found the average parent gets only 55 minutes of time to themselves every week.
The survey, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of online mattress company Nectar Sleep, also revealed that of the precious little time parents have to themselves every week, they spend only a third of it actually relaxed (31 percent), or just 17 minutes a week.
According to the results, men get the lion’s share of the free time between the couple, getting over 20 minutes more on average (70 minutes to 48 minutes).
One staggering result noted that 10 percent of parents say they’ve actually gone a month or longer without getting ANY free time to themselves.
According to the results, parenting can be quite a demanding job. And with free time being hard to come by, parents sometimes have to create it themselves.
65 percent of parents admit to hiding from their kids just to get a break for themselves. Some of the weirdest locations parents admit to hiding out is reclined in their truck’s driver’s seat, on top of the house’s roof, and under the sink.
When they do sneak off, parents will spend that time scrolling through their phone (42 percent), watching TV/movies (28 percent), or taking a clandestine nap (26 percent).
Getting that little bit of extra time to themselves to relax is incredibly important, especially when you consider the fact that over half of parents (57 percent) say that being a parent has negatively affected their quality of sleep.
“While most people are aware that parenting is a demanding job, we wanted to dig deeper,” noted Craig Schmeizer, co-founder of Nectar Sleep. “With so many parents needing time away from their kids and admitting that their children contribute to sleepless nights, we’re more committed than ever to delivering affordable, quality sleep to parents across the country.”
Busy parents have so much on their plate that it’s imperative to stay fueled up. The average parent will drink about 12 cups of a caffeinated drink a week, or about two entire bathtubs full every year.
That extra bit of fuel is definitely important, too, because according to the results, parents only get an average of 6 hours of sleep a night, and one in five parents (20 percent) report they sleep very badly and get very little sleep.
Another one in five parents admits they are frequently kept up at night simply worrying about their children.
“While there is no way to stop parents from worrying about their children, we know we can help them get the most of the downtime they do get, both by educating our customers about the importance of sleep and making the most comfortable memory foam mattress on the market,” said Schmeizer.
10 OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS PARENTS SAY THEY’VE DONE WHEN TIRED
Tried to wash clothes in the toilet
Poured baby formula into their coffee
Texted their boss thinking it was their partner's number
Took a shower fully clothed
Tried to make a phone call on the TV remote
Left the house completely naked
Opened the refrigerator looking for a pair of shoes
Waited for a stop sign to turn green
Drove to work without dropping my kids off at school first
Started cooking dinner at breakfast time
TOP 10 WEIRDEST PLACES PARENTS SAY THEY’VE HIDDEN FROM THEIR KIDS
Reclined in the truck’s driver’s seat
On the roof
Under the sink
Behind some bushes at a mini golf place while she played with her dad
Horse barn
Under the bed
In the laundry basket
Behind the washer and dryer
Under the staircase
Chicken coop
TOP 15 WAYS PARENTS SPEND THEIR FREE TIME
Watching TV 69%
Watching a movie 42%
Reading 40%
Scrolling social media 36%
Napping 35%
Listening to music 35%
Taking a bath 28%
Shopping 28%
Eating a snack 28%
Hanging out in bed 26%
Playing a game on my phone 25%
Going for a walk/run 23%
Playing video games 21%
On the phone 21%
Cleaning the house 21%
Calculations: Parents drink 12 cups of caffeine a week. If each cup is roughly 12 fluid ounces that equates to 7,488 fluid ounces a year. If the average bathtub holds 30 gallons of fluid, that equates to 3,840 fluid ounces. 7,488 divided by 3,840 equals 1.95 bathtubs.
ENDS
