Less than 20% of working mums happy with childcare

Less than one in five full-time working mothers are happy with their childcare arrangements, a study finds.

An online survey of more than 2,500 Irish mums found nearly half of those who worked full-time found it a struggle to get the balance right between work and family life.

The survey by eumom found that only 17% of the mothers who worked full-time felt entirely happy with their childcare set up.

The mothers were asked whether their childcare arrangement worked best for them and their family. Of the mothers who worked part-time, 30% said it did.

The start and end of a working day for mothers can be particularly stressful — almost 40% said they felt very wound up trying to be available for both work and family. One of the women said: “It’s heartbreaking but we have no choice. I can’t believe the creche is raising my children.”

Of the women who took part, 85% worked outside of the home and over 80% had children aged between seven months and nine years.

Almost nine out of 10 (88%) of the mothers said they would vote for a political party that promised to introduce an entire year of shared paid parental leave.

Shared parental leave was introduced in Britain in April and is available to working parents in the first year following the birth or adoption of a child.

The scheme is designed to give parents more flexibility to share childcare responsibilities.

Seven out of 10 working mums needed 30 hours of childcare a week. In 57% of families both parents worked and spent between 21% and 40% of their joint income on childcare.

Most of the mothers who went back to work after having children said it was either to make ends meet or provide quality of life for their families.

However, almost a third (32%) believe mothers receive less career opportunities. Almost half (47%) of full-time working mothers found it a challenge to balance career progression and family life.

Both part-time and full-time workers reported being made to feel guilty by colleagues and peers for any flexibility needed in relation to childcare.

Those who did not return to work said the cost of childcare was the main reason but it was closely followed by their desire to spend more time with their children and concerns about stress on family life when both parents are working.

However, the survey found that 60% of mothers who do not work outside of the home also had their children minded by a creche, playschool or family member.

While one third of mothers are happy they do not work outside of the home another third (36%) said it was not working for them and would like to make a change.