Working Mums Short Changed on Me-Time

The average Great British mother can expect less than an hour and a half each day to themselves according to leading Child Trust Fund provider, The Children’s Mutual.

The average full-time working mum is even worse off with less than an hour a day of ‘me time’ – which is defined as quality time spent awake, without worrying about the stresses and strains of the daily grind! Unsurprisingly, nearly three quarters of these women felt that this was insufficient.

Mums with part-time jobs fair slightly better than their full-time colleagues, with an extra 24 minutes a day. Those staying at home full time only gain another 20 minutes on top of this – a princely average of one hour and 42 minutes a day.

The Child Trust Fund provider found that the majority of mums prefer to spend their ‘me time’ relaxing by reading a magazine or book, closely followed by watching a film – although with less than 90 minutes to dedicate to themselves it is unlikely that they will get to see the end. Younger mums and those in the East Midlands also like to escape from their little ones by enjoying a tranquil soak in the tub.

Welsh mothers feel under the most pressure, with 85 per cent saying that they don’t get enough time to unwind. However it is mums in the South East that are actually the most hard done by with an average of only 58 minutes a day to relax. In contrast mums in the North East and those in the East Midlands enjoy nearly twice a much time for self indulgence with almost two hours a day to themselves.

In general dads have a much easier ride – and their ‘me time’ is not impacted by the employment status of their partner. The average dad gets just over an hour and three quarters each day to himself although there are regional discrepancies. In the North East, dads can kick back across a whopping two and a half hours a day compared to just an hour in the South East.

The balance is most evenly distributed in Scotland where both mums and dads get approximately an hour and a half each day of down time. The biggest gender gap is found in London where mums get a whole hour less to themselves than dads (one hour 24 minutes versus two hours 28 minutes.)

David White, Chief Executive of The Children’s Mutual, said; “Our research confirms what most parents already knew – that the huge number of demands on a parent’s time makes any amount of ‘me time’ a real luxury.

We are trying to do our small part to free some additional time by making saving for your child’s future as quick and painless as possible. A direct debit of just £10 each month into a Child Trust Fund could grow to be worth £4,600 when the fund matures on the child’s eighteenth birthday.”

Contact information
The Children's Mutual

Freepost RLRZ-ZAZZ-GACY,
The Children's Mutual,
PO Box 2067,
Gloucester, GL4 3YU

Contact Information
0845 077 1899
For enquiries on Child Trust Fund
0800 585 474
For enquiries on other products and services

By email
ctf@thechildrensmutual.co.uk
For enquiries on Child Trust Fund

information@thechildrensmutual.co.uk
For enquiries on other products and services

Website
http://www.thechildrensmutual.co.uk/

Press Contact
Katie Donlan / Joe Laing
TEL: 020 7781 2376 / 2365

About Us
Quite simply, we're the only UK company that specialises exclusively in savings for children.

- The Children's Mutual, as experts in savings for children, made a significant contribution to the Government's Child Trust Fund (CTF) consultation process
- We're widely recognised by the business community and the press as experts in our field
- The Children's Mutual's expertise has led several financial institutions and family-focused high street retailers to choose us as their CTF partner

How we've grown up

1881
Tunbridge Wells Equitable Friendly Society, (affectionately known as TWEFS) is born

1948
We introduce our first savings plan for children

2003
We launch The Children's Mutual, the only UK company specialising exclusively in children's savings

2004
We're one of the first to receive Government authorisation as a Child Trust Fund (CTF) provider

2005
To offer parents even more choice, we launch exciting new additions to our existing Baby Bond® family as CTF goes live.

2006
The Children's Mutual was awarded the first Moneyfacts "Best Child Trust Fund Provider" award, and also recognised by the Superbrands Council as a Kids Superbrand, an award for companies that demonstrate a high level of awareness and communication with their customers.

2007
With one in five new Child Trust Fund (CTF) accounts actively opened by parents being placed with us, and having won Moneyfacts Best Child Trust Fund Provider Award for the second year, we believe The Children's Mutual is better placed than ever to be recognised as Home of the Child Trust Fund.

2008
Winners of the Moneyfacts Best Child Trust Fund Provider Award for the third year running.

This release was published on openPR.