SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 30 (EUROPA PRESS) –
43% of Canarian workers say that the arrival of children has affected them professionally, compared to 57% who confirm the opposite. Of the total number of fathers and mothers who have seen their careers affected, 14% say they have reduced their working hours; 5.8% have left their job; and 3.5% have directly lost their job. 19.8% say that it has affected them, although they do not specify how.
These are some of the results of the ‘FamilyLovers’ barometer prepared by the Chicco brand within the framework of its 65th anniversary and in which it makes an exhaustive x-ray of the reality of the different Canarian families: from their motivations to have a son or daughter, their concerns, as well as their resignations or fears and the support received from their environment or institutions.
The study has been interested in knowing what is the main motivation of canaries to have children. Thus, while 54.4% place “the desire to start a family” as the main reason, “having always wanted to have them” is placed in second position (35.6%), followed by those who have had it unexpectedly (6.7%) and those who confess having had them at the wish of their partner (2.2%). The remaining 1.1% attribute it to social pressure.
85.6% of the interviewees were presented with some type of fear once they became fathers and mothers, compared to 14.4% who indicated the opposite. The financial responsibility that comes with having a child was the main fear for 53.3%. It is followed by questioning the ability to raise a child (47.8%);
Giving up personal time and hobbies is the third most repeated option (25.6%); that paternity or maternity may affect professional development (16.7%); the possibility that it affects the couple relationship (16.7%); and 38.9% highlight the practice of sport as the main resignation.
This barometer also provides information on how maternity and paternity have affected the personal lives of canaries. 63.3% claim to have stopped spending time on themselves; 50% have discovered new facets of themselves that they did not know; for 28.9% it has meant spending less time with their partner; and only 12.2% maintain that their life has not changed substantially.
82.2% of mothers and fathers in the Canary Islands confess to having given up things after the arrival of the baby, compared to 17.8% who say that everything remains practically the same. And with respect to which are the main resignations, the practice of sport appears as the first, indicated by 38.9%; followed by personal care (35.6%); night outings (34.4%); spend more time with your partner (32.2%); travel (32.2%); professional development (28.9%); and spending more time with family or friends (24.4%).
Asked about the reasons for these resignations, the majority attribute it to the consumption of time that occurs after having children (70.3%), although the lack of work-life balance (4.6%) is also pointed out to a large extent by the Canaries, as well as economic reasons (40.5%) and lack of family help (24.3%). Finally, the lack of institutional support is reflected (24.3%). As the survey reflects, many citizens of the Canary Islands have been affected by different reasons at the same time.
When asked what has been the greatest support during parenting, those surveyed are clear: 58.9% affirm that the couple, while 25.6% point to grandparents and grandmothers; 2.2% to uncles and aunts; and 1.1% to some institution and organization. On the contrary, 12.2% of those interviewed affirm that they have not received support from anyone.
