The Most Stressful Part Of A Mum's Day - The School Run

The Most Stressful Part Of A Mum's Day - The School Run

So what's the most stressful part of your day? The 5am wake-up call from your adorable children? The 2am night feed? Breakfast for hordes of small stroppy people? Bedtime?

Well, according to a survey, most mums find the school run the most stressful time of the day - 8.25am, to be precise.

Apparently getting the kids to school on time is a nightmare. Getting them out of bed, into their uniform, packing school bags and getting everyone to eat their breakfast means mums are tearing their hair out before they even get out of the door.

Then they have to battle with traffic and try not to be late.

According to the survey, 45 of them have snapped at the kids on the way to school - whether they're behaving or not.

More than half of mums then drive to work after they have dropped the kids off at school.

The worrying thing is, how distracted these parents are when they're trying to negotiate traffic.

Just under half of mums in the survey said they have been guilty of poor driving because they were late for work, and the average mum suffers up to three near-misses during the course of one year as she rushes between school and work.

Tracey Hyem, a spokesperson for Uniroyal which carried out the poll of 2,000 mums, said: "Getting everything and everyone ready and dropping the kids at school makes a very stressful start of the day for mums.

"Driving is something that requires concentration and when you add wet weather into the mix the situation can get dangerous.

"One in five mums drive the kids to school when it's raining, when they would normally walk. This adds to the cars on the road, and with the distractions and stress generated, extra care is essential."

Other stresses for parents include making sure their child goes to school with the right P.E. kit, letters, homework, dinner money and permission slips.

For 35 per cent of mums, just getting the kids dressed in the morning is tricky enough, whilst 21 per cent struggle with breakfast, and 27 per cent dread the inevitable traffic jams.

The most stressful part of the day for me is definitely bedtime - at the moment. But then my daughter's only 11 months and I haven't had to brave the school run yet!

What's the worst part of the day for you?

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