The TRUTH about being a full-time mum: Most mums spend 57 hours a WEEK on household tasks, with many completing almost 40 tasks a day

For those in the know, there's never been a debate over how hard mums really work.

But a new survey has today confirmed that being a mum really IS a full-time job, with the average mum devoting a whopping 57 hours a week to household tasks.

Cooking, cleaning, washing and playing nurse to the family are just some of mum's tasks, with research revealing a mum carries out 34 tasks per day - making for a grand total of 238 each week.

That's not all either, as a hardy three quarters of the 2,000 mums polled work at least in a part-time capacity too, adding an average of 24 hours of paid work on top of their role as a mum.

This means the majority of mums are putting in a staggering 81 hour week.

The new research by www.allabouthealth.org.uk showed that 80 per cent of mums were unanimous that raising children is a full-time job - and that the role is in fact more stressful and demanding than their paid job.

Juggling everything for the children and managing her own working life means the typical mum says she doesn't get to sit down and properly relax until 8.30pm.

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Kajal Ruda, Allabouthealth.org.uk pharmacist, said: "The amount of hard work that goes into being a mum is clear with many juggling work and motherhood.

"As mums are the driving engine in many homes, it's important they are supported as much as possible and have the resources to hand that can help them make the right decisions.

"In addition to the long list of daily jobs,  mums are often the one who looks after the health of the family by ensuring the medicine cabinet is always topped up and dishing out medication to poorly children, and can find it increasingly difficult to keep up to date with healthcare advice."

The study also showed how over-protective many mums are of their children, while also revealing how mums cope when their children are ill.

While one in four worry regularly about whether they are giving their child the correct medication when sick or in pain, six in 10 said they medicate their children based on 'gut instinct' when illness strikes.

A third confessed to relying purely on memory in terms of dosages, while when it came to administering medication - many mums were confused, with only a third knowing the correct procedure when applying compresses and ice packs.

Six in ten didn't know you could mix ibuprofen and paracetamol two to three hours apart, while the same number were unaware that aspirin should not be given to under 16s.

Worryingly, three quarters were unaware that you should be cautious about giving ibuprofen to a child who has asthma because may restrict the airways.

The top 40 jobs mums do every day:

1.    Wake the children/child up
2.    Serve dinner
3.    Wipe down the kitchen sides
4.    Make beds
5.    Clean the kitchen
6.    Put a load of washing on
7.    Make breakfast for everyone
8.    Pack dishwasher or wash up
9.    Get child/children to brush teeth
10.    Hang out a load of washing
11.    Get the children to get ready for bed
12.    Pack up the lunch boxes
13.    Help child/children with hair
14.    Get the children to do their teeth before bed
15.    Vacuum
16.    Get child/children dressed
17.    Check for any school paperwork
18.    Remind family of the day's appointments/clubs
19.    Get the children to have a bath
20.    Take child/children to school in the morning
21.    Put shoes and coats away
22.    Read with each child
23.    Lay out school uniform and shoes
24.    Tidy up the toys from that day
25.    Unpack and wash lunch boxes
26.    Address any homework that needs doing that evening
27.    Pick child/children up from school at the end of their day
28.    Feed the pets
29.    Pack child/children's school bags
30.    Pack bag for work
31.    Write in the children's homework books
32.    Put on the slow cooker/defrost something for tea
33.    Remind the children about good behaviour for the day
34.    Prepare an after school snack
35.    Ferry child/children to appropriate clubs
36.    Unpack the dishwasher from the morning
37.    Prepare sandwiches for the lunchboxes the following day
38.    Split up any arguments
39.    Rinse out water bottles
40.    Test children on homework in the car on way to school