Should our housewives earn £30,000 a year?

12:21pm Monday 10th March 2008

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IF HOUSEWIVES were paid for all the work they do they would earn a salary of £30,000 a year, a survey has shown.

The poll of 4,000 housewives, conducted by a networking website, suggested that the average mum worked for nearly nine hours a day, completing tasks such as getting children dressed and ready for school, feeding them, helping with homework and getting them ready for bed.

If professionals, such as child carers, chambermaids, chefs and accountants, were paid to complete these daily chores, the wage bill would come out at £30,000.

We asked three mums if they thought housewives were worth this amount?

YES

Karen Squires of Azalea Avenue, Wickford

Once I became a Mum and gave up the office job I was shocked - and in all honesty still am every single day, at just how much work it takes to look after two children, a husband and a home.

It is not just a case of getting the duster out when the need arises. It is 24 hours a day, seven days a week with no sickness or holidays. Every single day I get up at 6am and first of all see to my youngest shouting in his cot. Once he is sorted I set about getting my husband out of bed and ready for work (no easy task) Once he is up I then get the six-year old up. It is now 7.30. By 8am my husband has left for work - his morning having consisted of having a coffee and a bath (in peace) getting his suit on then out the door for the quiet walk to the station and the hour on the train to read his book.

Meanwhile I have made pack-lunches, done two wash loads, got two children washed, fed and dressed and washed up. Then off to school at 8.45. During the day my youngest is permanently attached to me whilst I try to clear up, do the washing and cooking, ironing and sort any household problems such as bills and the like. Then off to school to get my eldest at 2.45pm. The day continues like this - not a minute to yourself but a 1000 jobs to do to ensure everyone else manages to get to school / work, eat and have clean clothes and a clean home. - you are lucky if you remember to brush your hair most mornings. And in between all that I need to run two Slimming World groups with all the paperwork involved with that as well.

I found once I was home my life changed totally. My husband does acknowledge that because I do it all it has enabled him to do well in his career, but until you are actually the one doing it all you never really know how hard it is - most of the time you never make it to the "outside world" your partner exists in.

YES

Imelda Callowhill, of Woodgrange Drive, Southend

I think the main reason stay at home mums should be celebrated is the fact that they are the source of family stability. They are providing a wide range of support, emotional warmth and comfort to our future generations, which has got to be a good thing. Memories, and patterns are set and role modelling established. I was a stay at home mum with my first two children and worked full time with my third.

Staying at home being a housewife is quite a complex issue and not fully understood. Even more so for parents that are fortunate enough to be very wealthy. I think the more money you have the more you spend, extra curricular activities are more accessible, but with this come added time pressures. That often means ferrying your children here there and everywhere. With those activities come examinations, which add another element of pressure. It's quite a competitive world, and these mums that don't have to work or choose not to work, shouldn't be condemned.

Whether you stay at home, work part time or full time, being a parent is the toughest job ever and you never stop worrying about your children even when they leave home.There is no job description, no salary, no personal specification, no manual to read and every child is different.

Personally I think stay at home mums are great, sometimes big career sacrifices are made, or are put on the back burner, while the children are young and if one can manage financially then that's marvellous. In most cases the children definitely benefit. But every family has its own set of needs, priorities and its own financial pressures that have to be met and choices made in the best interest of their own family.

My comments and thoughts are reflective of my own experiences and as a full time working mum, sometimes I get tired and I wonder how do I fit it all in.

I have been richly blessed and I am very lucky and despite feeling tired from time to time, I would not swap what I do for all the diamonds in Hatton Gardens!

NO

Deborah Jeffries, of Montague Avenue, Leigh.

None of the 'housewives' I know would claim to work nine hours solid a day and be worth £30,000 - even if they have young children. The people who do deserve recognition are working mothers like me, as I - and many others - work a 40 plus hour week as well as doing all of the 'housewife's duties', including having sole care of the children.

As a lone parent, I needed to return to work part time when my son Karim was 10 days old and commuted with him to London when he was just six weeks old, as the nursery I used there enabled me to have a longer working day.

I started my agency, UpFront Marketing, when he went to school. I take him to school every day and pick him up most days and spend most evenings and Saturdays with him. I fit in my work before and during school hours and on Sundays, apart from when I need to go to meetings outside of this area.

But don't come to my house, as I have trouble fitting in the housework. I draw the line at cleaning when my son's in bed, and my neighbours will tell you I never do the gardening.

What's more, working mothers are excellent for the economy. I earn money and pay tax, I pay for childcare and often send my son places by taxi. We eat out a lot, as I don't have time to cook, and spend most free evenings at the gym, which has an amazing kid's club that Karim enjoys while I exercise. Otherwise I'd get no 'me time' at all.

Do housewives deserve £30,000? If they do, then I - and all mothers who work full-time - deserve £60,000. Particularly those who, like me, don't have any extended family to help them. Then, perhaps, I could afford a cleaner and be less ashamed of the state of my house and garden.