5 Practical Tips for Evening Out the Working Parent Workload
As we all know, the pandemic is still affecting school and childcare schedules. Everyday, thousands of parents are faced with the dreaded email ‘School will be closed this week’. In light of this ongoing struggle, BenefitBump is sharing our top 5 ways to balance the unpaid work parents do at home in two-working-parent households. Currently expecting your first child or just planning and not yet at this stage? We encourage all parents to review our tips below, regardless of where you are in your parenthood journey.
Leveling the playing field is a necessary first step. Take a tip from Fair Play by Eve Rodsky, that both parents must first embrace the idea that all time is created equal. Fair play [in working parenthood] allows both partners to contribute to the family’s well-being but it also requires both partners to contribute.
Secure your childcare well in advance. And have backups. And backups to your backups. Both parents should make a list of all the people you could call in a pinch when things are not hectic, so that you have it at your fingertips when the school or daycare unexpectedly closes due to an exposure, or your nanny calls in sick.
Redistribute the division of labor at home. Make a list of all daily chores, activities and responsibilities. Have a discussion with your partner about who does what. Which of these responsibilities could your child/children handle? For a list of age-appropriate chores, visit, cadence-education.com.
Plan for the unexpected. Set clear expectations ahead of time about who stays home in the event of a sick kid. For example, one parent is responsible for Monday and Tuesday, while the other is responsible for Thursday and Friday. Wednesday is negotiable.
Try not to blame when things fall apart. Having an evenly distributed division of labor helps to reduce the amount of blaming that goes around, but if one partner does slip up, try to have a conversation about expectations and reality, before you resort to blame. Maybe the new division is harder than your partner realized it would be and you both need to re-prioritize. Maybe some things won’t get done as often as you’d like, and that’s okay. Maybe you need to outsource or ask for outside help. A fair division of labor is a fluid process, not a rigid to-do List.