In your opinion... Is it harder...

[Maximillionsmummy]

To be a stay at home parent or a working parent.. Particularly targeted at lone parents.. But anyone can comment of course. I am a single working mother and by the end of the day I feel destroyed.. I am interested in others views and opinions.

These threads always go to shit. Good luck with it

I think your problem is the 2 hour commute each way. You're only going to work 2 days a week? But even so that's 4 hours travelling each day. I imagine the other days are much easier by comparison.

So I'd be trying to move house or job if I were you.

(FWIW I work part time but don't have a long commute and I think it's "easier" than being a SAHP because I wouldn't enjoy it and because I can sometimes use annual leave while DS is in nursery )

There's so many variables. I'd say as a lonre parent, you have to factor in how stressful having no money is and being dependent on the state. Who can just suddenly stop benefits.

Your problem is the commute. Anyone would hate that, single parent or not.

I've been both and I was loads happier as a part time working parent when DS was small. I wasn't made to be a SAHM.

I was a SAHM for a year when DD was born (I was on benefits, so I'm sure some would say that's not the right term). But she had lots of health issues that meant it was quite stressful. She is autistic (high functioning though). I think working is much harder as you have so many things to juggle BUT I started at the bottom of my organisation and worked my way up so the first 6-8 years were tough as it was about proving myself (lots and lots of extra hours in the night), promotions and juggling never ending appointments. Now I'm more senior I can WFH (pre-covid), I can pay for healthy take away, choose my hours, pay privately for hobby lessons for DD around what suits us (for example rather than having to be at swimming at 6pm so no dashing from after school to lessons on public transport to cooking dinner as couldn't afford takeaways) so work although challenging is paying to make my home life easier.

For me, staying at home was much harder because I got very depressed. I find work exhausting and stressful but also enjoyable and it lifts my severe depression. So no contest for me, but this obviously doesn't apply to everyone.