Anyone who’s ever spent 40 minutes pleading with a pre-schooler to let you help them with their damn pants after they put both legs through the same hole for the 15th time in a row knows this to be true: getting kids dressed and out of the house each day is not for the weak.
Or the punctual.
But a recent survey shows just how much time parents spend getting their kids out the door, and the results are as exhausting as chasing a four-year-old around the kitchen with a toothbrush.
Parents clock the equivalent of an extra day of work, or about 10 hours, getting their kids ready in the morning every single week. The survey of 2,000 parents was conducted by Kellogg’s in 2018, but is bubbling up again this week.
Probably because scientists have yet to come up with a solution for kids who want to put on their own shoes, but don’t actually know how to put on shoes, and then change their minds and want to wear one rubber boot and one slipper to school. HOW DARE YOU TRY TO TALK THEM OUT OF IT?
Aaaand everyone is crying.
WATCH: How to get your kids to move their butts. Story continues below.
We feel like the answer is obvious, but if you were wondering what exactly is slowing parents down each day, here are some examples from the survey:
Reminding their kids at least twice to get dressed, brush their teeth, or put on shoes
Telling them to hurry up 540 times before the end of the school year
After all that, changing their kids’ outfits at least twice a week after they spill breakfast on themselves
Bribing them with electronics, toys, and TV just to get them to MOVE IT
And most parents are awake by 6 a.m. just to give themselves more time, and feel like they’ve done a full day of work by 11 a.m., Metro adds.
Yep, that sounds like an average day.
But it’s not all bad news for working parents. (Once they get out the door, anyway). Research from Statistics Canada released in 2016 found that 75 per cent of Canadian moms and dads who work outside the home are satisfied with their work-life balance.
Parents felt most satisfied if they had a partner, their children were younger, and had a regular working schedule (ie. not shifts).
To make your morning routine more efficient, some parents recommend planning your own outfits for the entire week in advance while letting your kid pick theirs the night before, prepping breakfast and lunch in the evening, getting up before your kids, and trying to remain calm.
... Which is easier said than done when you have a morning meeting and your toddler decides they can mix their own oatmeal, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, but we suppose that’s why wet wipes exist.