Mums are carrying the mental load of family dinners, and new survey reveals dads often don't realise it

New research suggests mums are taking on most of the invisible work behind family mealtimes, with many finding dinner a daily source of stress.

Multiracial children helping mother preparing food in kitchen at home

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Published: July 7, 2026 at 12:46 PM

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Getting dinner on the table is about much more than cooking, according to new research that suggests parents are feeling increasing pressure around family mealtimes, and mums are carrying most of the invisible work.

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A survey of 2,000 UK parents found cooking, meal planning and food shopping are among the biggest weekday stressors, with women almost twice as likely as men to say getting dinner on the table is a daily source of stress.

Mums say they carry most of the responsibility for family meals

The research, commissioned by food brand Very Lazy, found a striking gap between how mums and dads see the division of labour at mealtimes.

More than eight in 10 mothers (84%) said they shoulder the majority of responsibilities linked to family dinners, including meal planning, food shopping and cooking. However, only 38% of fathers agreed that their partner does more.

The findings suggest that much of the work involved in feeding a family happens long before anyone starts cooking, and often goes unnoticed.

The 'hard part' of dinner looks different for mums and dads

The survey also found parents tend to find different parts of the dinner routine frustrating.

Women were most likely to say the biggest challenges were deciding what to cook and making meals that everyone in the family would enjoy, highlighting the mental load involved in planning family meals.

For fathers, washing up was the task most commonly described as the biggest frustration.

Getting dinner on the table isn't just about cooking. It's everything that comes beforehand, like deciding what to make, checking what's already in the fridge, planning the shopping and making sure everyone is happy with what's on the menu.

Kate Sayers, Marketing & Innovation Director at Very Lazy

"Those everyday decisions quickly add up and become another source of pressure and faff in an already busy day," Sayers says.

Cooking and meal planning rank among parents' biggest weekday stresses

The survey suggests mealtimes are becoming another source of pressure in already busy family lives.

Around one in four parents (26%) said cooking is one of their biggest weekday frustrations, while a similar proportion (24%) said meal planning and food shopping are among the tasks they dread most.

Sayers added: "We're seeing more families embrace realistic shortcuts because they want to spend less time worrying about dinner and more time enjoying it together."

What parents can take from the findings

Although the research was commissioned to support the launch of a new cooking product, the results highlight a wider conversation about the mental load of parenting, particularly the often unseen work involved in planning family meals.

For many families, it's not simply preparing dinner that's causing stress, but the daily decisions behind it, from keeping track of what's in the fridge to remembering everyone's changing food preferences.

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The research was conducted by Censuswide in June 2026 among a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK parents aged 18 and over with children under 20.

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