I almost hate to write this blog. The information forces me to look at myself and consider…do I need to make some changes? Am I part of this statistic? Does my wife notice? But I get ahead of myself. Let me explain.

Research from the University of Bath and the University of Melbourn revealed that mothers carry 71% of the mental load in the average family. Fathers tend to take care of tasks that have a definitive end, like paying the bills, cutting grass, fixing the leaky faucet, and maybe even cooking a meal. Father’s complete 65% of these types of tasks.

Mothers, however, carry 71% of the family mental load. The mental load involves planning, scheduling, and organizing–things like planning meals, planning future events and family outings, scheduling appointment, noticing when items (like foods and toiletries) need replaced, keeping the family calendar, keeping track of deadlines and due dates, arranging rides and babysitters…you get the idea. In addition to all this planning, scheduling, and organizing, mothers still complete 79% of the daily tasks as well–housecleaning, cooking, transporting, shopping, etc. (fathers complete about 37% of these tasks).

Managing so much of the mental load of a home can lead to stress, burnout, and strain on women and our marriage. With that in mind, it might prove beneficial to sit down with our wives, the mother of our children, and discuss how we might help with the planning, scheduling, and organizing of the home. How can we carry some of the mental load of our homes and our families? In fact, I think I need to talk with my wife tonight and ask her those very questions.