ARE YOU A stay at home parent? Do you ever feel over-worked and under-appreciated?

Well, that’s probably because you are.

A new study by finance company Legal and General has estimated the value of the work done by a stay-at-home parent as stg£30,373.

If they were paid the British minimum wage of £5.93 for all the hours they clock up childminding, cooking, cleaning and chauffering, then a stay-at-home parent (SAHP) would be entitled to claim more than the average wage.

A SAHP in Ireland, meanwhile, earning the new, lower minimum wage of €7.65 per hour would make an annual salary of €39,182.

SAHPs clock in 14 hours days, and regularly work a seven day week. Not only do they not get paid holidays, they regularly don’t even get lunch, coffee or unaccompanied toilet breaks.

According to the Daily Mail, the average working week sees a stay at home parent deploy their time as follows:

• 29 hours: childminder
• 7 hours: laundry assistant
• 4 hours: taxi driver
• 8 hours: cook/dishwasher
• 4 hours: personal shopper
• 5.5 hours: ironing technician
• 4 hours: general housekeeper
• 7 hours: story-teller
• 2 hours: homework assistant
• 3 hours: sports coach
• Additional hours as required: first aid expert, nurse, counsellor, stylist, gardener, telephonist, peace negotiator.

The working partner of a stay-at-home parent contributes an average of £21,306 to the gross domestic output, the study added.

Poll: How would you value the work of a stay-at-home parent? >