To ask how many kids you have, their age, and how many hours you work a week?

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I'm curious how normal it is to work full time, 40+ hours a week with kids. I feel like everyone's life would be so much better if I did even just one day less. What do you do for an evening meal? I find this hardest and spend a fortune on convenience food (not take aways, but super easy comfort food) for the family. Does it matter if its a career? As in its worth it because it will pay off long term or if its just a job and you simply need to.

Aibu unreasonable to try and work out what is normal?

I have one teenager. I've not worked full time since he was born. I do nearly full time hours but compressed over 3.5 days.

It’s entirely normal in my experience, as it’s only on Mn women’s careers start being weirdly optional when they have children, but what difference does it make what other people choose? Can you drop a day? If you can, and it would suit you, do it. DH does the cooking when he’s here, but when he’s not I make something quick when I get in. One child, 12. Work 40 hours.

I work full time compressed hour (5 days over 4) but often work over my hours so about 45hrs. It's a professional career rather than a "job" but can wfh 3 days a week and manage my own diary so flexible.
I have DS in primary school and DD in nursery 2 days and with parents 2 days.
Lots of very easy meals, slow cooker, eggy bread, tin on toast, jacket pots depending on whether DD is eating at nursery or organised around kids hobbies.

I've always worked full time. When my kids were little both me and DH did compressed hours, 5 days in 4 so they would be at nursery for long days Monday - Wednesday then one of us would be off on Thursday and Friday
Now they are 8 and 11, we both work Monday to Friday but both are contracted for 35 hours which is a bit easier. I do 8-4 Monday to Thursday and 9-3 on Friday. Wfh 4 days.

My DH works flexibly, all wfh. Doe the school drop off and most pick ups. So we find it quite easy to balance everything

I have 3 children under age 9. I work 20hrs in 2x 10 shifts. I wouldn't want to work any more than that tbh as would feel I was missing out on the children while they are young. I've actually dropped a few hours to do 10 hrs instead of the standard 12hr shifts and it made a huge difference.

2 children, one just started secondary, the other is in year 3 (7yo) I work 25.9 hours over 4 days. Did 18.5 hours, 2.5 days while they were small to save on nursery costs and have increased as they got older and easier.

5 and 10.
I work full time over 5 days.

I have two DC 12 and 3. I work 20 hours (although I do often do an extra day so about 27 hours).
Before we had the youngest I worked full time this was shift work so 37.5 hours over 3 or 4 days.
I only reduced my hours so much because the cost of childcare was pretty much the same as my pay, and I work in the NHS so my shifts never fit in-between school hours.

full time but my role means full time isn’t 9-5 it’s more like 8-5 then logging back on when the toddler is in bed but that’s not every night

4 year old. WFH most days, make dinner while WFH so we can eat when she gets
back. Pregnant and will be taking 10 months off and then going back 4 days a week

Full time (36 hours). 3 primary age DC. Constantly drowning, can't focus on work at all.

My little girl is 3. I work 3 days compressed at 27h 45 min a week.

I was wondering whether i should increase my hours but she starts school in 18 months and i just want to spend my time with her before that happens

I think I'll continue on 3 days when school starts as I've got 2 guaranteed days in a week i don't need to cover in the school holidays

When they were young I worked 2 days a week and slowly increased this as they got older. From when youngest was 13 i have worked full time.

10 and 6. I work 30 hours over 4 days. I'm a single parent, so financially I'd be better off doing full time but sanity wise I need the extra day.

A lot of people are just struggling to get through the week, but I'm also not sure what folk expected of a life with a full time job, kids and all that comes with that, if not busy and stressful?

I have three kids, ages 7, 4 and 1. I work FT, 37 hours over 5 days. I have flexibility re. hours to some extent, so I will quite often log on again after the kids are in bed and do an extra 1-2 hours in the evening. I have a DH but he does longer hours than i do.

Food - I do try to cook most things from scratch, but I cut corners where possible e.g. precut vegetables. I batch cook sometimes and I am a big fan of quick things like scrambled eggs, or picnic teas! Jacket potatoes only take 8 mins in microwave, salmon 10 mins in steamer etc. I'm an air fryer convert too so that makes things quicker. I'm not averse to a freezer tea every now and again, just do what you've got to do tbh!

Oh and I am knackered all the time, so there's that 🤣

One DC aged 12. Returned to full time, 40 hours over 5-days a week, work when she was 9 months. I have a meal plan and a supportive partner. I like the rythmn of the working week and weekends. We try to do our household chores during the week to give us free time together at weekends.

Full time (40+ hours) over 5 days. 3 days a week I’m out of the house 6.30am till 6pm. WFH 2 days per week. DH also full time, 2 office days, 3 WFH days. He does all the cooking (all meals that take 30 mins or less like fajitas, bolognaise etc) and school runs, I do all the laundry, admin etc. Weekly cleaner. One DC age 9, in some sort of wrap around care or sports club most days.
Pre covid when neither of us could work from home we had the same split and used full time nursery.

I have a 14 year old son with learning difficulties and significant SEN and a 12 year old son. I did full time up until 2023 in a high pressure role and it broke me. Even though DH had very flexible hours and did alot of the day to day especially medical appointments. I then worked 4 days and used my day off to batch cook and catch up on the necessities. But although I was being paid for 4 days I still had more than a full workload and found myself up at 3 in the morning at weekends trying to keep on top of things. I had an extremely unsympathetic boss who told me 'it's hard for every working parent'. I finally had a breakdown and am now 'retired' although I have started taking on some temp jobs as the COL starts to bite.

When I was full time I had a short commute so would be up at 5 am trying to tidy the house and get clothes washed. In a previous role I had a commute of 60 miles each way and when DS1 was born had to give that away as it was physically and literally impossible to have a child with significant needs, a DH who then worked out of the home in a non-flexible job and to stay on top of things.

The reality of being a full time working parent was so so much more difficult than I ever imagined. PIls are dead and my parents live in New Zealand so we had no family assistance. My cousin has a demanding job and a demanding 14 year old and she likes to tell me that managing is 'all about being organised'. She also has a husband at home, and her mother and Stepfather living in the granny annex who provide all childcare while she furthers her career. So as you can imagine her blithe assertion that you just have to get on with things irritates me immensely.

I have 2 who are mid and older teens.

I worked part time when they were small, 3 days, then full time for a short bit then part time (sen soon, no childcare)

I am sure working 4 days would be less stressful at home. But obviously it's a paycut and depending on your job could mean less progress or just more in work stress.

I think wellbeing is a good reason to consider part time, but not tea!

Oh and more practically- other than batch cooking- my DCs get a cooked meal at school. So when I was full time I would often just have little 'suppers' for dinner- sandwiches and veg sticks- fruit and ice cream- eggs on toast- etc. It had to be easy. We still do a 'breakfast for dinner' once a week- last week was bacon and eggs this week probably scrambled eggs and smoked salmon.

FT 36 hours but I do 3x 6hr days and 2x long days. This means I can do the school runs/tea time 3 days a week which really makes a difference (although quite exhausting)
Mine are 9, 7 & 3.
It’s not easy and I can’t imagine working more hours than that!

Two kids, 4.5 and 2. Sahm until littlest is 3.5 when he goes to nursery 5 days a week. Then I'll find part time work. Probably no more than 24 hours.

Will add, my auntie has a very high paid demanding job and she condensed her hours into 4 x 10 hour days so she could have Fridays off with her kids. She would clean the house those mornings when they were in school and do something with them in the afternoons. Made her life a bit easier as a single parent too.

3 children, 5,8 and 13. I work 26.5 hrs over 4 days so 9-4 which helps with school drop off and then clubs after school for the youngest and eldest heads home on the bus.

Just to add, I think it makes a big difference as yo what job you do too. If you work from home and can do things like stick the washer on or put the dryer on, sort out dinner etc during your breaks in the day then it would be easier to do more hours. I'm a paramedic so can't go home at all during a shift and it can be emotionally and physically draining at times which also makes a difference.