Thaindian News

London, Oct 12 (IANS) Many modern-day mothers view it demeaning to be described as “housewives” and they rather prefer being called “stay at home mums”, a study in Britain has found.

Two-thirds of the British mums believe the label has “negative connotations” and even “trivialises” their family role, the Daily Express reported.

A study of 2,000 mothers commissioned by Mothercare to mark its 50th birthday found a third of those disliking the term even described it as insulting.

The research has also thrown light upon the fact how a woman’s perception of her role at home and within the wider society changed over the years.

Many prefer the “stay at home mum” title because they considered caring for the children to be their primary role and view household chores to be a shared responsibility with their husbands.

Liz Day, parenting consultant for Mothercare, said: “Times have changed and clearly mothers feel there are now more modern, and perhaps, more descriptive names that fit their role… There is no doubt the role of a mum has changed with a more shared approach to chores.”

Many believe people look down on them for choosing to stay at home rather than work.

And nearly half said they think others consider them “boring” because they have nothing interesting to talk about.

However, nearly half said being a parent was harder than they could have imagined as they placed caring for their children ahead of housework. So they were irritated by the “housewife” label.