http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/parents-talk-back/parents-talk-back/2010/02/how-much-free-time-do-moms-really-have/

So I was just watching Dr.Phil and I had to post this because I was so in awe at the things they say (this guy is claiming a root canal is liesure time!!!)

How do you bloop mommies feel? And do any of you actually have this much time on your hands, cause if I was to get done everything that I needed to in one day, I wouldnt have slept and I would be negative hours in the day lol!

Lmao. Uhm, I have a lot of free time, but I also make sure I have free time, my kids arent constantly with me, they are playing in their room, or we are playing outside while I am working, I can manage to do my school work, their lessons, make dinner, cook, clean, and just relax, but I also have daddy who does a lot.. It is just a matter of making free time for me, in my opinion.

im guessing this dude isnt married...or wont be for long.
According to Wikipedia:
Leisure or free time, is a period of time spent out of work and essential domestic activity. It is also the period of recreational and discretionary time before or after compulsory activities such as eating and sleeping, going to work or running a business, attending school and doing homework, household chores, and day-to-day stress. The distinction between leisure and compulsory activities is loosely applied, i.e. people sometimes do work-oriented tasks for pleasure as well as for long-term utility.[1]

maybe he should have looked it up :P

This article says women have 30-40 hours of so-called "free time" but I think we have different definitions of "free time".

exactly.. my definition of "free time" is me doing whatever the heck i want and not have my kids around. but the last time i did that was a week ago sunday and i can't even remember when i did it before that!! being a parent is a full time job.. so this whole 30-40 hrs is BS!!! that is prolly within a years time!!!

My definition of free time, is being able to read a book, or being able to update my diary, or being able to argue in forums lol. I love having my babies around so even shopping with them is free time to me.

Free time, whats that? Havent heard of that since 2007 before my son was born.. Ha ha... On the show the guy came out and said that liesure time is things like, getting a root canal, driving, sitting at your kids soccor practice... I like the one ladys rebuttle to that she asked if just because she was sitting in a guilatine and hadnt been beheaded yet does that mean its free time?

Lol, I would consider sitting at my kids soccer practice free time, if I can read. Free time to me doesnt mean having no kids around though. Some moms dont want "free time" without kids.

everyone's definition of free time is different, pretty much like mindi said. free time to me would include not having to do any school work, being able to relax either with the kids or alone, not have to worry about house work or homework, or anything of that sort. i wish i had 40 hours a week to do whatever the heck i wanted, but then again i kind of feel like that would be a big waste of time.

a ROOT CANAL, is LEISURE time? that guy must be totally mental.

This is guy is insane. Seriously; I am a 45-hour a week/ working mom; when I come home, I clean my house, cook, entertain and teach my daughter, spend time with my husband, and sometimes get to bed by midnight...I think one of the comments off of that website summed it up:

To me “leisure” time is a block of “free” time large enough to do something I enjoy doing without interruption.

Well, if leisure time is time off work, whatever your work may be, then a root canal would, strictly speaking, be counted as leisure time. Possibly 'free time' is a better expression. There are all kinds of things one does in one's 'free time' which aren't exactly fun things, but you need the time off in order to do them. Working people who are not parents use their time off work to catch up on things like housework and grocery shopping and doctor appointments and catching up with family members. It's not like non-parents work 40 hours a week and the rest is all play time - but when someone does paid work, they often do tend to count time off work as 'free time', because the divide is more obvious.

I think it gets kind of complicated when one compares parenting with paid work (and I'm saying this as a non-parent, so all you mums can disagree if you think I'm off base!). On the one hand, parenting is very hard work, but on the other hand, it is a personal decision, and part of one's personal life, and so I would imagine it's kind of different, mentally, from the kind of 9 to 5 work where you go and do a job and get paid and come home, because it's you're life, your fulfilment. You are not doing it for money, but for the personal fulfilment of having a family. And the boundary between work and leisure must get blurred, because most mothers actually get deep pleasure in interacting with their kids, and so while a lot of parenting is boring mundane hard work, surely quite a significant amount of it is deeply satisfying, and a personal fulfilment thing, and quite different from the kind of satisfaction you might get from a paid job.

For instance, when I go to work, I can feel satisfaction from working with a client and making a positive difference in his life, but at the end of the day, that client isn't part of my personal life - we have separate lives, and what I do at work is quite separate from my personal life. But if you are a mother making a positive difference in your children's lives, then surely that is not simply a job, but it's developing your personal life, because that child will (hopefully) be in your life forever, not as a client but as a loved and loving family member, and you will have many enjoyable leisure times with this child in the future. So surely your work is also your personal life - the two become merged, and so it must be quite hard to separate your life into work and free time.

I do agree with you Estella. If I didn't count taking care of my daughter as leisure time then I absolutely would not have any leisure time. Because if I'm not at work or school I am with my daughter. Although it is hard work being a parent, it's also a very rewarding job & should not be compared to going to a paid job. I really enjoy my job but I see it as something completely different than my time spent at home cooking, cleaning, & taking care of my daughter. Being a parent is something you choose to do rather than get paid for. So really it's not a job it's a decision you make. Although it should not be taken lightly because I was a stay at home mom at one time too, but I can tell you being a stay at home mom is a lot easier than being a working college mom. Because you still have all the same responsibilities as you did when you stayed home except you are tired, stressed, and have less time to do them in.

To me leisure time would be like the 10 minutes I'm taking on the internet (when I should be getting in the shower & going to college to make out my summer class schedule). I know for a fact I don't have 40 hours of leisure time a week. Between work, school, studying, being a mom, household chores, and driving to & from places I don't even have time to stop & enjoy the beautiful day God has given me most times.

To me leisure time would be being able to sit down with my family & watch a movie, go out to eat, sit in the floor & play barbies with my daughter, read to her, push her on the swing, let her help me cook, all of these things are things that I thoroughly enjoy & they relax & de-stress me...I do try to make at least 30-45 minutes a day to just sit in the floor & play with my daughter or read her books etc. but to me that is also a duty as a mother (even though I enjoy it & it's not really work..it's something I feel like I should do as well).

Um. Do they include the hours overnight where we sleep to be leisure time? If so, then maybe. Also, it really depends on the age and needs of the child(ren), because a mother of a newborn is going to have significantly less free time than say, a mother of a teenager. There is absolutely NO WAY that we have 30-40 hours of leisure time. NO WAY.