Behind every working mum is a team of ten helpers dubbed, ‘Team Mum,’ a survey has revealed.
Modern working mothers admit that they heavily lean on a team of close- knit family members and friends to help them juggle their busy lives, and 60% reveal that they couldn’t cope without the extra pair of hands.
The Tesco Baby survey, involving 2,000 busy working mums, found that the person they rely on the most is their own mother, with 67% admitting that they couldn’t live without them. One in ten rallies in the help of her mother-in-law and 5% even manage to persuade granddad to muck in.
The survey also revealed that the average mum receives 10 hours of support from their ‘Team Mum’ each week, with one in 20 being lucky enough to get 31 hours of help.
Babysitting duties aside, the other benefit of having a constant network of support is the money they save on childcare.
Enlisting the help of reliable family members saves the average working mum £140 month in childcare costs, which is £1,681 a year. Half admitted that they paid their team of helpers back in favours instead of cash, and 40% said they belong to a ‘trusted network’ of fellow mums who help each other out.
As well as juggling full-time work and being a good parent, the survey also revealed the other biggest challenge 32% of working mums face - the dreaded housework!