@ashleyjames: 7 out of 10 UK mums are burnt out according to research we discussed this on This Morning. Let’s get into it a bit more. 🤪 I want to caveat this post by saying it isn’t about individual relationships. Tommy would be classed as an ‘exceptional’ dad, and he is. But being a present, hands-on dad should be the expectation, not the exception. A dad at the school gates shouldn’t be remarkable any more than a mum is in 2026. Women have achieved so much autonomy in the last few decades. We can work, choose not to marry, and build lives that don’t revolve around a man without the same level of social shame our mums or grandmothers faced. But the systems around us haven’t caught up. They still feel rooted in a time when women stayed at home and men earned the wage, while expecting women in 2026 to somehow do both. Just this week, Nigel Farage floated the idea of scrapping the two child benefit cap unless parents are British-born and both working full time. But how are two parents meant to work full time when childcare is extortionate and flexible working is still treated like a favour rather than a necessity? And what does that mean for single-parent households? It shows a complete lack of understanding of the pressure families - particularly mums - are under. But it’s not just us who lose out; Dads are failed too. Paternity leave is minimal, meaning many men don’t get the time they want with their babies, while quietly reinforcing the assumption that it’s the mother who should step back from her career. That feeds straight into maternity discrimination and long-term inequality. Real systemic change looks like affordable childcare, flexible working as standard, shared parental leave, and equal expectations on parents regardless of gender. Until that happens, women will keep burning out. And to the “don’t have kids if you don’t want to put up with it” crowd, that’s already happening. Birth rates are falling, which has consequences for everyone, including future taxpayers and how we support an ageing population. We need to listen to mums, and fix the system and the culture. 👊 #mumlife #fyp

Ashley James

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Wednesday 04 February 2026 19:46:51 GMT