Research confirms that being a mother is the equivalent of working 2.5 full-time jobs!

Everyone knows that mums are heroes. When 5pm rolls around and other adults are clocking out, you're signing back in to fulfil your parental duties.

From an early wake up to a late finish, mothers are constantly on the go.

But now research has confirmed what every mother knows — it's actually more work than a fulltime job.

2000 mothers of children aged from 5 to 12 were quizzed about their weekly schedules.

The average daily start time for a mum was 6.23am - a great deal earlier than when most people start their working day.

A mother's day on average ended at 8.31pm only after completing every task needed, whether that be career-related or parental jobs.

READ MORE:

• This is the strange reason women give birth lying down ...

The survey found that a mother's "working" day was a whopping 14 hours, or a 98-hour working week.

That works out to be two-and-a-half times more than the average job.

When it comes to downtime, the study revealed mums only get one hour and seven minutes of time to themselves every day.

With mums feeling the pinch of their long grind, the study revealed parents were most grateful for babysitters and family help, as well as Netflix, wet wipes, drive-through meals, iPads, toys and healthy snacks.

READ MORE:

• Having children ages women more than smoking and obesity

The mothers in the survey also revealed the items or things they couldn't go without, which included: coffee, napping, and being able to put on an effective angry voice.

Casey Lewis, health and nutrition lead at Welch's, told Yahoo: "The results of the survey highlight just how demanding the role of mum can be and the non-stop barrage of tasks it consists of."

Fathers, remember to lend a hand so your loved one can look forward to that hour and seven minutes of much-needed and earned "her" time.

This article was first published on NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.