Do these statistics surprise you?

McMaster University researchers tracked the amount of time 4,000 stay-at-home and working Canadian parents spent caring for children before and during the pandemic. Here’s what they found:

• Men reported an average of 33 hours of caregiving per week before COVID-19 hit and 46 hours per week during.
• Women reported an average of 68 hours per week before and a whooping 95 hours per week during!

Mothers have taken on an alarming number of hours caring for their children during the pandemic. It can be extremely challenging to balance work and family obligations at the best of times. Throw in a pandemic and it can be completely overwhelming.

On The Morning Show this week, I was asked to share strategies to help moms with the challenge of balancing work and family life in the pandemic. We unpacked how to:

• Release Guilt
• Accept “What Is”
• Release Perfectionism
• Accept Help

Think of a mom in your life who may be overwhelmed during this pandemic. Is there one thing you can do today to help lighten her load or brighten her day?

Author Sally Koch said,

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.”

This is absolutely the time to lean on each other. Reach out for help if you need it, accept it when it’s offered, and offer it when you can. It’s how we make our families and our communities stronger together.