Looking after their homes and taking care of children is what a housewife generally does; many women prefer this to work. Of course, many women are now going in for careers and their family responsibilities.
Women were appreciated for taking care of their homes for a long time. Men felt they were more homemakers. However, with the advent of feminists and women’s educational levels and economic compulsions, women have started to venture out for work outside their homes.
A housewife has the onerous responsibility of taking care of her children. She has given up her career opportunities to settle down for life in the home. Is this all very convenient and a happy situation? A lot of homemakers experience boredom. Let us understand this better.
Why is a housewife bored? – Bored housewife syndrome
1. Less interactions
A housewife only gets to meet a few people. She is confined to a limited circle of her children, husbands, and perhaps friends. Her conversation and mental horizon need to be improved. She often yearns for varied human connections and stimulating discussions in this isolation.
2. Routine life
She has to cope with the same old struggle of cooking, looking after the children, and carrying out household chores. This repetitive cycle can lead to feelings of monotony and unfulfillment.
3. Less romantic life
Because of taking care of children and other household chores, she may only have a little time to spend with her husband. The romance she experienced at the time of courtship may not be there. The longing for that initial spark can contribute to her feelings of boredom.
4. No hobbies
Many bored homemakers are confined to housework and are not involved in other activities. A lack of personal passions or hobbies can intensify the feeling of being trapped.
5. Lack of self care
Many housewives tend to neglect their looks and go out of shape. They feel there is now no reason to look good. This could affect their relationship with their husband. This neglect can result in lowered self-esteem and diminished self-worth.
6. Being taken for granted
Many husbands take their wives for granted. They remain busy with their office work and pay little attention to them. This also causes boredom.
Feeling undervalued in the relationship can lead to invisibility and desolation.
How can a housewife get over boredom?
1. Find a Hobby
One should find hobbies like gardening, painting, knitting, baking, and writing. Hobbies help in keeping one busy and also help in developing new talents and skills. One would find a sense of purpose and fulfillment outside of daily routines through hobbies.
Benefits of Engaging in Hobbies
| Hobby | Potential Benefits |
|---|---|
| Gardening | Promotes relaxation and a connection with nature. |
| Painting | Boosts creativity and provides an emotional outlet. |
| Knitting | Improves focus and creates a sense of accomplishment. |
| Writing | Therapeutic and helps in self-expression. |
| Baking | Fun and rewarding; enhances culinary skills. |
2. Exercise
Regular exercise boosts the mood and enhances energy levels. One should try yoga, aerobics, or even dancing. One could join online classes, which could be followed from the comfort of your home. Maintaining physical health translates to better mental well-being.
3. Join a Club or Group
You could join a book club, cooking class, or a local community group. It’s a great way to meet new people and engage in fun and engaging activities. Such groups provide a sense of belonging and a break from the routine.
4. Volunteer
One could also volunteer for a local charity. It will be a fulfilling experience and an excellent way to spend free time. Helping others gives a renewed sense of purpose and perspective.
5. Learn Something New
Take up an online course or learn a new language. You can also learn a new computer skill. The internet offers a lot of free as well as paid resources to learn new things. Expanding knowledge can be empowering and provide new opportunities.
6. Meditation and Mindfulness
One could also practice mindfulness and meditation. It will help reduce stress and bring a sense of calm—inner peace and clarity result from consistent practice, improving overall quality of life.
7. Connect with Friends
Meet or talk with friends, which will help alleviate feelings of loneliness. Social connections rejuvenate the spirit and provide much-needed emotional support.
Read
Reading is a great escape. It could be a novel, biography, self-help book, or magazine. Reading is both entertaining and educational. Diving into a book expands horizons and provides a welcome retreat from daily life.
8. Write
Writing can be more therapeutic than reading if you like it. Start a blog, write in a journal, create a YouTube channel, or write a book. Expressing oneself leads to self-discovery and a sense of accomplishment.
9. Party
Organize parties and have friends over. Celebrations uplift spirits and strengthen bonds with loved ones.
10. Games
Play games with children as well as a husband, both indoors and outdoors. Games foster teamwork and fun and create cherished memories.
11. Communicate
Try to communicate with one’s children to learn from them. They have much to convey. Children offer a fresh perspective, and their insights are enlightening and surprising.
12. Work from Home
Take some work at home to look after the family and earn as well. Balancing work and home provides financial independence and a varied routine.
Comparison: Working vs. Non-Working Housewives
| Aspect | Working Housewives | Non-Working Housewives |
|---|---|---|
| Daily Routine | Balance between household duties and career. | Focus entirely on household chores and family. |
| Social Interaction | Higher social interaction at the workplace. | Limited interaction, primarily within the family. |
| Sense of Purpose | Career provides a sense of purpose and achievement. | Often feel unfulfilled due to monotony. |
| Financial Contribution | Contributes to family income and savings. | Relies on the husband’s income. |
| Self-Care | May invest more in appearance due to work culture. | Neglects self-care due to household responsibilities. |
Boredom is something that can mar a relationship. A bored housewife can be irritable and turn out to be a nag. Undoubtedly, by bringing about necessary changes in her lifestyle, she can also avoid boredom.
22 Comments
Why is it that everywhere I read about advice on being a housewife one of the tips is “not to take husband for granted” Isn’t that slightly backwards? Perhaps if the husband didn’t take the wives for granted they wouldn’t become irritable and a nag. Perhaps if the house chores and the responsibility of taking care of the children were split between the married couple there would be more time for romance, hobbies outside the wife’s home, etc.
Lori, I fully agree with you. There should be a proper balance in all the things then only a relationship could flourish. Husband and wife are like 2 wheels of a car. They have to be balanced and take the load equally in order to have a smooth ride.
Something tells me a man wrote this.
I totally agree… a man wrote this article or woman who has no children.
i disagree, many stay at home wives, think their men just go out on holiday every day…… and take their men for granted.
You don’t think your husbands bustin there ass everyday at their jobs to pay bills and put food on the table isn balanced enough for you?
To Gavin
I would switch a week in my life with you anytime and then you can see if you still think that… do you think you would be up in the morning and fed and have clothes on your back starting from your childhood if your mother and now the mother of a child did not take care of you, maybe you are a self sufficient man but you still had your ass wiped and your diaper changed, so never forget that, or go and ask your mother if she agrees with your pigheaded statement… just because you go outside of the house to work does not mean we are not working one hell of a-lot as well.. why do you think housewives are classified as the “double shifters”? We take care of everything so that others have a chance to do anything!
um Gavin was not syaing you were doing nothing. He was saying that men who work are ALSO working,
ie that 12 hours fo the day that you dont see them????
My husband is a sales man, sometimes he has busy days, others he tells me it was dead. Sometimes I think he exagerates how “hard” his day was since he litteraly has wear spots on the elbows in his dress shirts that I iron every week without a thank you. Then I ask him to just entertain our 7 month old while I finish cooking his dinner and he says I just worked all day! Earlier you told me how bored you were, I wish…
Neets, you’ve said it all!
OK,
yeah the whole – don’t take your husband for granted thing is a bunch of bullshit…anyways…yeah hobbies outside the home, exercise, and throwing parties etc, would be fun…however, if you live in a place with no family support, who are you going to leave your baby with? Can you really go work out with a baby on your back?? And throwing a party – as long as no one is too loud, makes too much of a mess, or stays too late (as you will probably be up at 6 AM the next day) would be fun…however, not really realistic. And again, hobbies outside the home – like cross country skiing, kayaking etc…do you really want to take your 4 month old and do those activities? Otherwise what, like quilting? Screw that.
Its crazy frustrating because you go from having a career to suddenly sitting on the floor 8 hours a day going Yay! and then the never ending monotony of washing, sterilizing, changing, cleaning, cooking, cleaning, feeding, all day long, just to go to bed and get up and do it again. You lose your entire identity of what you had going on before you had kids. Not that I regret it. At all. I just need some me time once in a while.
I work everyday and feel the same – up at 6:30 – rush out home at 7:30pm – eat, try to talk and be happy with the family, eat sleep do and it again
Oh please! A man gets to live his life, nothing changes at all – a woman loses her identity, her confidence, her ability to talk about nothing except the children or the house. No-one is saying it’s not hard going out to work, but as a woman in a highly paid and highly valued career, I think going to work is so much easier. Imagine being able to go to the toilet alone? Someone valuing your opinion? Eating lunch that is still hot? Just having a general ‘grown up’ conversation in the office even! If I earned more than my husband then I would go to work and leave him at home, and I can assure you it wouldn’t be long before he went stir crazy! As much as we love our children, women find they have the hardest task of managing children, home, cooking, cleaning, washing, early mornings, late nights, through-the-nights…it never stops. And imagine if we went to work also, all of this would still fall on us. Men give up nothing with children – a woman’s life changes forever…let’s not forget that!
“Men give up nothing with children – a woman’s life changes forever…let’s not forget that!”
I realize that this comment is being left a long time after you posted your comment, but I just had to point out how ridiculous you sound.
If you honestly think your statement is true, you must be quite a self-absorbed nitwit.
Dang… Some of you all sound like a bunch of bitter women who forgot what is was to be in love with a man. This would be pretty discouraging to a newly wed haha. I totally already went through the whole “I work too” stage. Believe my husband works at Microsoft he LITERALLY plays the Xbox One all day everyday. We’ve already had monster arguments about it, but if you show a man the respect he needs (yes I said needs) it might take a awhile but he will retaliate with the love you desire. Instead of always nagging about taking out the trash even if its “his job” learn to enjoy it yourself. After a while he will see how hard your working and be more inclined to help. Believe me I didn’t want to do this but even if you have to “pretend” like your a happy wife who loves respecting and referencing her husband… Do it its worth it. Oh yeah and I forgot the most important thing. Pray. Its hard to be irritated with someone you pray for everyday trust me try it out and you’ll see a difference. You can’t change your husband you can only change yourself 🙂 go ahead try it out for a couple weeks.
You women are so ungreatful. Whyd you choose the life you lead if it isn’t everything you want!?
In response to “happyhousewife” are you flippin kidding me!!! its no question mothers have the hardest jobs. Yes we all signed up eager and willing but thats not to say we dont deserve a break now and again. I work three days a week, (complements of a family corporation) take care of my baby, cook, clean, pay bills and I get tired. Not to mention the fact that that I own everything from the house, the cars right down to the couch that my wonderful husband rests his ass on after a long days work. I ‘ll tell you something mister happy housewife HE is GREATFUL.
I’m a man who goes to work while my wife is in school. I work 10 hr days and very hard. When I get home I just want to put my feet up and relax. But I can’t because she is on my ass to help out around the house. Then I find out that she has skipped school, slept till noon and has done none of the house work. Very irritating… She had one kid from another marriage who is old enough and willing to take care of himself. So when I read this self righteous feminist crap I want to puke…! Get over yourselves and realize that if your home all day and not bringing in any income it is your obligation to cook, clean and take care of your kids.
hmmm,as an African woman,i’m glad to see even western women have the same issues,motherhood & being a housewife is HARD work,but i think nobody does it better than us women!so instead of berating our men,let’s pat ourselves on the back for the great job were doing & try to enjoy our homemaking,i mean dont you get a sense of satisfaction from maintaining a clean home,raising happy healthy kids & cooking meals for your family?? Although you’ll only get this sense of satisfaction if you have an appreciative hubby,which i do.
to natsai:
i agree with her. follow a path and do one thing very well, instead of trying to do many things, not so well.
i think american women have it bad, because their identities are confused. they think they are men, but yet their bodies keep producing babies.
let me remind you women that you are not men, and whether or not you decide to have kids and be a housewife, you should tap into your built in qualities of nurturing and accept the fact that your husband desperately wants those qualities from you..don’t forget…
and if you choose to have babies and be a housewife, don’t bitch about all the work.. currently i support my girlfriend and her kid and she runs the ship—it works out great. she does get bored but we are working on that.
she’s a professional, had a career, but taking time now to raise her kid and enjoy life.. what’s wrong with that? when i come home I definitly don’t want to cook and we usually go out to eat. what’s so bad with that.
I have been married to a person for almost 4yrs.That does not work and will not try to let it work. He treated me real bad, by instead of the love I so deserve, I get sarcasm, ridicule and belittled, daily. This is a person that I have made welcome into my home since day one. When i meet him he was sleeping on the floor of one of his relatives. I have always worked and supported my children well now they are grown and on their own. It is him and I. Now I am injured on the job about 7 months ago. He is now receiving SSI and he has been so mean to me since I cannot go back to work until i have surgery on both wrist next month. Then I will return to work. My family and I have always worked but he would like to live off the system by receiving SSI, food stamps, government cellphones, anything he can get for nothing! I am injured and my family helps me pay my bills because he will pay only his cable bill. Now he has to go I don’t care where but he has to get away from me! I can do bad by myself and I would rather be alone than lonely!
I am a woman, with no children, college educated, working full time on my career because I chose this path. If you chose to be a housewife then embrace it…the good and the bad…Having a career is not all rainbows either.
But what infuriates me is coming home and seeing your bored housewife neighbor, hanging out on your driveway, repeatedly asking your boyfriend to do things for her around her house, BECAUSE the poor thing is “bored”, “socially isolated”, because her DOCTOR husband is busy BUSTING his ass at work to support her and two sons, two new cars,anda nice house.
While I bust my ass at work I have to deal with this “lonely” woman who uses my boyfriend as her “surrogate” husband…..
To natsai
lol I totally agree 🙂 life is what you make it. If you want yo be miserable you’ll find a way to stay miserable on the other hand if you want to be a happy mother and wife you’ll find reasons to be. Thanks for your comment it was definitely a breath of fresh air.