London - They pride themselves on taking care of the children while running the family home.
Just don’t insult them by calling them housewives.
Two-thirds of mothers who have given up work detest the term “housewife” and prefer to be described as a “stay-at-home mom”, a study has revealed.
They believe the housewife label has “negative connotations” and trivialises their role. A third feel it is “insulting”.
The stay-at-home mom title, on the other hand, reflects the fact they consider childcare to be their primary role and think household chores should be a shared responsibility.
But despite these views, the majority still find themselves doing the bulk of the cleaning, washing, shopping and cooking.
The poll of 2,000 mothers, carried out by retail chain Mothercare, also found that nearly half of stay-at-home moms think their partner expects them to do more than their share of domestic chores because they aren’t out at work during the day.
Liz Day, parenting consultant for Mothercare, said: “Times have changed and clearly mothers feel there are now more modern and perhaps more descriptive names that fit their role.”
Despite TV shows such as The Real Housewives of New Jersey glamourising the life of a housewife it appears most women are unhappy with the traditional job title.
As well as looking at women's perception of their role, the report ooked at how they feel they are perceived by the wider society.
Nearly half said they think others consider them ‘boring’ because they have nothing interesting to talk about and many said that they feel as if they are looked down on for staying at home rather than working.
The survey also found that although the market is flooded with time saving gadgets, moms still find it difficult to get everything done.
Day added: “Mothercare has been caring for parents for 50 years and we have seen the role of parents change and develop through the decades.
“In the 1960’s it was quite normal to expect the mother to give up work and stay at home to bring up the children but lifestyles and technology have changed dramatically since then so the care of children and the household is now the responsibility of the whole family.
“It can be quite hard for mothers in society today.”
The key priority for moms was the happiness of their children, cooking them balanced meals and ensuring that they reach key developmental milestones in good time. - Daily Mail