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According to a new study (which was written about here) moms have 30-40 hours A WEEK of leisure time. Wow... that's incredible! Let me see if I can find at least a minute of it here... umm.. ?? Oh, wait, does this time right now count? Does having to stop your typing every 2 minutes on the second to fill a sippy cup, clean a spill, listen to crying about "I want candy!", and wipe a behind count as leisure time? Apparently, yes!
This is what one woman said in response to the news that she has so much free time:
Post reporter Brigid Schulte didn't believe it, and so she kept a diary of her days. What qualified as leisure time? Waiting for a tow truck, visiting a sick friend and answering e-mails at midnight. Basically, anything that couldn't be categorized as paid work, child care or housework is categorized by Robinson as "leisure."
*Robinson is the doctor that did the study
Apparently even having a root canal is leisure time - good to know.
Now, moms, don't get too upset because he says the same thing about dads and ALL Americans.
So, what do you think? How much leisure time do you have?
When we just had Madison, I had tons of leisure time. She was the BEST sleeper in the world. She always napped well, and I can remember the days when she was an infant and would take TWO 2-3 hour naps each day. One nap was for house cleaning; the other? Exercising, showering, WHATEVER. Life was good but I didn't know it.
Once we had our second angel... oh lordy! He was the WORST sleeper. He never slept. Husband gone to Troop School for 6 months, starting when baby #2 was 5 weeks old. I have never worked so hard in my entire life. I haven't since. I don't think I had 30 minutes of leisure time a week!
Fast forward to today. Three kids, two of which go to school, youngest at home is soon to be 3 years old. I could easily find all kinds of leisure time if this was all that was going on. Work does have to fit in here somewhere. And, the work I do is at my home, or I have to typically take Samuel with me if I'm required to work away. (and THAT'S fun.... let me tell ya) On days like today - when I've SCHEDULED leisure time.. sure! It's awesome, and I do schedule leisure time for myself and I think EVERYONE should.
On most days - where's the free time? Even if Samuel takes a nap (which he doesn't often anymore) then I spend that time calling clients, responding to emails, and bleaching the potty.. again. That's also when I hit training really hard with any dogs that are here for that purpose. Add in dance and ball practice and life's pretty busy. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving it! I enjoy it! But, I don't think you can classify it as leisure time if you're always waiting for some type of ridiculousness to occur. To me, leisure time is when you can go do what you want, be as loud as you want, and do whatever you want. I know that stay at home parents rarely have this going on - and I'd assume that those of you that have to go off to work realize your bosses wouldn't take too kindly to you just not showing up for a few hours so you can go to the spa.
What do you all think of this study? How much leisure time do you have each week and what's your definition of leisure?
3 comments:
I think I would define leisure time as time devoted to me which would include my daily bible time (1 hour before 6 am), my daily run (30-60 minutes) and my blog time (20 minutes). What's funny is all this stuff happens at o'dark thirty--after house is cleaned, kids are fed/bathed/read to/cuddled/loved/played with, after hubby has "his" time ...
All the rest of my "spare" time is spent studying for my Ed. D., running errands, going to appointments, meal planning or other household duties, planning crafts, learning activities, and family outings ...
I'm not sure what moms they studied but I'm pretty sure they AREN'T representative of me or the moms I know because none of us get that much leisure time (unless you take sleeping into account. Then I get maybe 6 hours a night by 7 nights=43. Ah yes, now it adds up!).
My only "leisure" time comes when everyone else in the house is asleep! Even if I fit in a movie with The Man, I'm folding laundry or ironing at the same time. If I return a call to a friend, I'm loading the dishwasher at the same time. You get the idea. Even my fun art time with the kids is SCHOOL... sure I can make it fun, but directing and cleaning up after four painting children still isn't "leisure time."
All kids are in bed, lights out by 8pm. Hubby is out by 9pm. I stay up until 11, giving myself two hours of ME time for computer, reading, Bible study, and art. This doesn't happen on weekends...so I'd say I get 10 hours of leisure time a week. Not bad. :-)
I do agree to most of the points given here to balance your work and family. However it is not applicable to everyone as not all kids are supportive and disciplined, but there were many other valuable tips.
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