life as wwe know it
Screaming and chucking the toys out of the pram – and that’s just the parents…
·First 24 months following childbirth are the most stressful time of our lives
·Changing nappies, choosing baby names and interfering in-laws drive us to distraction
The first two years following childbirth are the most stressful years of our lives – that’s the verdict of a new study which suggests that the first 24 months following a first born witness more bickering and marital strife than at any other time across the course of a lifetime.
The survey of 2000 British parents with children under the age of 16, was specially commissioned to mark the DVD release of ‘Life As We Know It’ out on Monday 28th March. This lighthearted rom-com starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, explores the hilarious calamities of unexpected parenthood when the couple are left to bring up their best friends’ child and quickly realise that they must juggle careers and social calendars whilst setting their differences aside.
The report implies that the arguments start even before the little one is born, with 39% of parents arguing over the choice of name, 17% disagreeing on having their own parents or in-laws involved in making child-rearing decisions and 15% of parents struggled to agree on which baby equipment to buy. Furthermore, 6% quarreled about the length of maternity leave to take and 10% disagreed on having their partner attend antenatal classes.
The study suggests that once the little bundle of joy arrives couples don’t have long to wait until niggles over the new baby responsibilities kick in! New parents claimed that agreeing on who gets up in the middle of the night to tend a screaming/hungry baby (38%) and deciding on how to spend the family finances (24%) were the areas most likely to give rise to disputes. A lack of intimacy can also cause friction (23%) however it is often the more mundane chores such as Nappy changing (and share of) that provide the trickiest challenges for squeamish new parents with 22% of respondents admitting to this being a big bug bear in the early stages..
The top 10 key flashpoints for new parents were defined as follows:
1. Night-time Baby Duties 38%
2.Finances - How to spend money 24%
3.Lack of Intimacy 23%
4.Changing nappies 22%
5.Household chores 19%
6.Lack of social life 17%
7.In Laws (too much parental involvement) 14%
8.Child rearing methods 12%
9.Partners being less attentive (lack of compliments etc) 11%
10.Education 7%
Happily, the research suggests that the trails and travails of bringing up baby are not all in vain, indeed, 74% of those surveyed overwhelmingly agreed that having children was one of life’s greatest achievements and 62% agreed that their baby’s actions made them laugh more often than their friends could.
However, the current economic climate could soon mean smaller families become commonplace in Britain, over two thirds of those surveyed (67%) believed that the cost, stress and responsibility of bringing up children would put them off extending their family any further.
Relationship expert Jenni Trent-Hughes comments: “Having a baby is one of the most special times we can experience as a couple. However, new parents are often completely unprepared for exactly how demanding newborns can be. But once the first 24 months are over, relationships tend to get back on an even keel and you can really start to enjoy what is undoubtedly one of the best achievements in life.”
‘Life As We Know It’ is released on Blu-ray & DVD on Monday 28th March 2011