Almost 20% of mothers in Ireland would choose the gift of sleep this Christmas - that’s according to research carried out amongst over 1,900 mums in recent months.
A total of 30% of mothers in Ireland would choose ‘time alone’ as their perfect Christmas gift, while 28.5% of mothers said they’d love their partner to help share the mental load more evenly rather than receiving any type of material gift this festive season.
Asking a mom what she wants for Christmas will probably result in a response about wanting health and happiness for her family – and what she will probably get is her favourite perfume or the latest skincare treat. While these are undoubtedly thoughtful, maternal mental health life coach Laura Guckian of Mind Mommy Coaching chose to delve a little deeper to find out what Irish mothers would really feel grateful for this Christmas.
“With 90% of women saying that their experience is that of an unequal sharing of responsibilities when it comes to the mental load and a massive 90% admitting that their reality of Motherhood feels harder than they imagined prior to having children, it comes as no surprise that all Mothers really want for Christmas is sleep and time alone,” explains Laura.
‘With almost 37% of Moms claiming they go to bed 3-4 times a week with feelings of Mom Guilt, it makes sense that 22% of mothers said that all they want for Christmas is to feel like they’re a good enough mom to their children. Material gifts are can feel nice but they only give short term happiness. It’s like putting a plaster on a leak. I wanted to find out what Mothers really want – and need – this Christmas and the results align with what I hear from my clients everyday.. What Moms really need are tools to help them navigate the daily challenges that Motherhood bring. So that they can achieve positive Mental Health in a sustainable and realistic manner.
“More than half of the respondents to the research claimed that they rarely get a break from motherhood, with almost 10% revealing they never do. Over a third claimed that if they do get a break, it is a long hot shower – which is a very sad statistic. A shower is a basic need yet is not considered a break to many moms. So let’s try and not give Moms a gift that will only offer a very short burst of happiness-let’s try give them the gift of sleep, time and tools to support their Mental Wellbeing every day. After all, Christmas is just one day,” Ms Guckian stated.
The research was carried out amongst almost 2,000 mothers across Ireland and the UK and took a deep dive into the mental health of women during their years of motherhood. Many of the statistics are the unspoken reality of many mothers yet, as a society, they are admissions that don’t often get brought to the forefront of conversation.
Mind Mommy Coaching is a life coaching service dedicated to normalising the challenges of all stages of motherhood and helping moms navigate those challenges to achieve positive mental wellbeing. Set up by mom of three, Laura Guckian, the business aims to ensure mothers have the clarity and tools they need to achieve positive mental health, and stems from Laura’s own personal experience with mental health when she first became a mother.
