It takes new mums and dad 14 MONTHS to get used to having a new baby, study reveals
Parents admitted they had no idea how tough their new role would be with new mums and dads listing constant tidying up and sleepless nights the hardest part
NEW mums and dads have admitted they were "not in the slightest bit prepared" for how hard parenting would be, a study has revealed.
More than one in three UK parents admitted they had no idea how hard their new role would be with almost half (49 per cent) saying they were shocked as they adjusted to their new lifestyle.
New parents also said that it took them 14 months to get the hang of parenting, with 73 per cent saying that they felt the pressure from friends and family to be a "perfect" parent.
The fresh mums and dads admitted that the hardest part of their new role was the constant tidying up (25 per cent), while sleepless nights (22 per cent) and the battle to simply get their baby to sleep (14 per cent) were also high on the list.
The daily struggles could explain why a third of those surveyed revealed that they enjoyed being a parent only "some of the time".
Struggling with just 2.9 hours to themselves on a weekday evening, parents said that fun barely outweighed hardwork, rating their new role as 52 per cent fun to 48 per cent hard work.
But despite the shock, the research, commissioned by leading toy company Little Tikes, found that parents also found joy in the little thing.
Parents rated seeing the newest member of their family smile as the most rewarding thing - rating their happiness as 8.5 out of 10.
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They also said that they loved seeing their child learn something new as well as sharing and cuddles.
Milestones, including sleeping through the night and walking and talking were also listed, as high points for the sleep-deprived parents.
The 1,500 parents surveyed as part of the research said that they had about 4.4 hours of fun a day with their children.
The research also revealed the hardest time to be a parent - with those surveyed saying they felt most exhausted at 7pm - particularly on Mondays.
Little Tikes' play expert and child psychologist Emma Kenny said: "Clearly being a new parent is an exciting time in anyone's life and it's fascinating to see the high and lows of parenting that our research reveals.
"It's wonderful to see that despite all the sleepless nights and tidying up, many find magic in the little moments, cherishing the milestones as baby develops."
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