An interesting discussion developed with some great parenting friends recently concerning how household chores are divided with partners. The curiosity was spiked when one mom moved from working to stay at home status and her husband felt that since she was home, the household chores were her responsibility.
In my household, the chores are largely unbalanced. I work outside of the home four nights a week, leaving my son in his care for six to eleven hours on those nights. I am also actively writing a minimum of three hours per day, every day to further my career goals in a writing field. A checklist of chores most often completed one way or the other follows.
Vacuuming: Me
Dusting: Me
Bathroom: Me
Dishes: Him
Sweeping: Me
Mopping: Me
Garbage: Him
Laundry: Me
Meals: About 50/50
Grocery Shopping: Me
Bedroom: Me
Child's room: My son, Jaden
At this point, he is working on his enlistment into the National Guard, however is not working otherwise. I spent between 22 and 37 hours per week at work outside of the home and an additional 20-40 hours per week on writing and researching. The balance in my own household is extremely unbalanced. How does the balancing act measure in your household?
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3 comments:
Our balance is pretty unequal. I do most of it. But our place is small and we have no kids or messy hobbies.
That helps a lot. There really isn't much to do.
And we have a very simple household rule: If it bothers you that much, YOU do it!
So while I may do most of the work, it's not because anyone is telling me to or complaining about things needing doing. It's because I see something I want done and I choose to go ahead and do it. :-)
I count my lucky stars that we don't have a yard to tend to as well. If we did, I'm afraid that I would have that chore added as well.
And people wonder why I love to catch a cat-nap when I have twenty minutes to spare. :)
For the first time in my life, I am playing the role of house husband, while I finish my six-book epic fantasy series. My wife and I have three daughters still at home, ranging from 7 to 13. Jeanne is working 50-plus-hours a week as the features editor at an area newspaper, so I have taken it upon myself to do all the shopping, chores, etc., though she still retains control of the laundry. Otherwise, I do almost everything else. It only seems fair to me, considering how hard she works and how long she is away from the house and the girls.
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