Moms, This Study Finds That You Really Do Work Harder

Even when working couples believe in sharing parenting responsibilities, mothers take on more of the load.

That’s the finding of a new study from Ohio State University, which suggests that moms spend significantly more time than dads do on some types of childcare. Researchers looked at time diaries for parents of children less than 1 year old and determined that mothers spend more than twice as much of their parenting time as fathers doing routine care, such as bathing and feeding the baby (after accounting for breastfeeding).

Fathers were most involved in positive engagement and accessibility, which may not be as demanding as routine care, according to the researchers, who published their findings in the journal Family Relations.