Quebec mothers struggle with stress over maintaining a work-life balance: study

MONTREAL -- Many mothers of young children in Quebec are stressed out over pressure to balance work and family responsibilities, a new study shows.

Released Tuesday by the Early Childhood Observatory (Observatoire des tout-petits), the study showed that 39 per cent of mothers with children between six months and five years old are experiencing high stress levels as they try to manage work-life balance. That number has been on the rise since 2012.

Comparatively, 23 per cent of fathers feel the same way, a level that hasn't increased since 2012.

This data is worrying, the Early Childhood Observatory said, as parental stress can affect the quality of a relationship between a parent and child.

Mothers of toddlers are also more likely than fathers to report moderate to severe depressive symptoms. Fathers, though, are more prone to excessive drinking, at a rate of 13 per cent.

The findings come as part of an overall portrait of young children in the province. The study showed that the family situation for most toddlers has improved in recent years.

The proportion of toddlers living in low-income families decreased from 20.9 per cent in 2004 to 13.9 per cent in 2016.

That might be because more Quebec parents joined in the workforce over that period: families where both parents (or a single parent) work increased from 60.8 per cent to 69.7 per cent. The employment rate of mothers with toddlers increased more significantly, too. 

That said, in 2016, there were still about 10.3 per cent of families with at least one toddler where both parents were unemployed. One in 10 children was food insecure in 2016, putting them at risk for cognitive and motor development.

Quebec parents seem to be getting solid social support, though: as many as 90.5 per cent of parents reported having family and friends who helped them feel safe, secure and happy.

Sharing the load also seems to help: according to the 2015 Quebec Survey of Parents of Children from birth to age five, parents who are very satisfied with how parenting and household tasks are shared with their spouse have a lower level of family-work conflict.