Today’s modern moms: Finance, lifestyle and digital statistics {Infographic}

Each year millions of women experience the joys, challenges, and sticker shock of having a baby.  This infographic takes a look at new moms and how they creatively figure out how to make baby affordable while sharing their adventures in motherhood with the rest of the world.

“The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rules the world.” –William Ross Wallace

4 Million – The number of babies born in 2010
158 Million – The number of females in the US in 2011
1.6 Million – The number of babies born to first-time moms in 2010
85.4 Million – Estimated number of moms in the US in 2009
$12,370 – The estimated cost of the first year of parenthood for a middle-income family
25.4 years old – The average age of a new mom in 2010

Keeping up with the Baby Joneses

Spending on baby starts months before he or she is born.  Ever resourceful, new moms and soon-to-be moms have different strategies to buy all the essentials for their little one.

74% will cut back on the family budget to buy items for baby
13% will cut back on the baby items
58% are daydreaming about what they’re going to buy for baby
30% are planning to buy the store-brand baby products
25% are planning to buy store-brand formula
37% feel guilty when they can’t afford an item that they want for baby

Spoiler alert!

New York City moms and dads lead the nation in sparing no expense when it comes to baby.

$234,900 – the current cost of raising a child through the age of 17

With the current price tag on the cost of raising a child over $200,000, work (full or part-time) is an economic necessity for many mothers.  Since the 1950s, the percent of women working or seeking employment grew steadily and peaked in 2000.

47% – women today make up nearly half of the workforce

Of working moms with children 17 years old or younger:

74% work full time
26% work part time

Choosey (working) moms choose…

62% prefer to work part time
37% prefer to work full time
13% of full-time working moms said having a mother who works full time is an ideal situation for a young child

While the number of working moms has been steadily increasing, the number of stay-at-home moms has been steadily decreasing

1969 – 9.8 million married moms with kids under 15 were SAHMs
2012 – 5.1 million married moms with kids under 15 were SAHMs

Days of our digital lives

Moms love to share their knowledge and experience.  97.2% give advice to others about the products and services that they have purchased.

During March 2012:  

27.9 million moms visited Facebook
9.3 million moms visited Blogger
5.4 million moms visited Twitter
4.1 million moms visited WordPress
3.1 million moms visited Tumblr

60.3% of moms share their experiences on Facebook
42.4% of moms share their experiences on MySpace
16.5% of moms share their experiences on Twitter
15.3% of moms share their experiences on their own blog

3 out of 4 moms visit Facebook

Moms’ top family and lifestyle sites

4.9 million – Pinterest
4.8 million – Disney
4.4 million – iVillage Network
4.2 million – WebMD
3.8 million – Everyday Health

How are moms keeping up with all this socializing?

54% of moms in the US own a smartphone
50% via mobile devices

Sources:  US Census Bureau, National Center for Health Statistics, US Dept. of Agriculture, Kelton Research, Bundle.com, Women’s Bureau (US Dept of Labor), Bureau of Labor Statistics, Pew Research, National Retail Federation, Nielsen

Infographic source:  CreditDonkey.com

Amy Metherell

Amy is a work-at-home Mom who juggles family life with a husband and two active kids, ages 9 and 6. In her spare time, she runs, takes karate with her family, reads, runs a virtual assistant business, and is always looking to learn new things. Her passion is helping people, which is why she loves being a VA. From being the Online Business Manager for The Momiverse to being a personal assistant for small business owners, she loves every minute.

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