The roles of both parents are to balance work and family life

The roles of both parents are to balance work and family life

The roles of both parents are to balance work and family life. According to Wall (2007), “when there are problems balancing work and family life, it is usually the mother and not the father who cuts back on work or drops out of the workforce altogether when dual-earner families can no longer afford to have a parent out of the home.” It is only fair that if both parents are working, both are responsible for household duties and tending to the children. However, I understand that if the father works full-time and the mother works part-time, or vice versa, then responsibilities can vary to ensure all needs are met.
In my opinion, all home responsibilities should be shared amongst all family members, and not just amongst the parents. I think chores should be age appropriate. For example, in my home, whether my husband or myself does the laundry, it is folded, and our 6-year-old is responsible for putting it in her correct dresser drawers. She is also responsible for picking up her bedroom and emptying her lunch box after school. My 2 ½ year old is responsible for picking up his toys and clothes off the floor. He also loves loading the washer. If I leave a load of laundry lying near it, he will fill the washer until it is overflowing. As for my husband and I, the responsibilities are shared, except for two. My husband handles the finances and I handle the yardwork. Some may not agree with the female handling the yardwork, but it’s mine! I do rest easy knowing if there ever came a time when I couldn’t do the yardwork, I know my husband would step in and do it without hesitation. Other than that, we both do laundry, cook, clean, dishes, homework with the children, children’s baths, etc.
As for my parents, both worked full-time jobs when I was growing up. My mother tended to the inside of the house and my father tended to the vehicles, finances, and outside work. My mother did not get her hands dirty. She has an office-type job and enjoys getting her nails done weekly, while my father on the other hand, works a labor-intensive job, gets dirty, and enjoys being outdoors. Both parents shared cooking and tending to the children responsibilities. My grandparent’s lifestyles were different though. My grandmother was a homemaker. She stayed home, cooked, cleaned, and tended to the children’s needs. My grandfather worked long hours outside of the home.
My father is my biggest influence on how I run my family. He was always a hard worker and ensured everyone’s need are met before his. He worked all day, still made it to his children’s sporting events, volunteered in the community, and never complained. He helped my mom, my mom helped him with what she could. My grandparents were similar. Even though my grandfather worked outside of the home, he still “ran” the home. He made all of the decisions and ensured my grandmother and family had all that they needed.

References
Rathus, Spencer A. (2018). Human Lifespan Development. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Wall, G. & Arnold, S. (2007). How involved is involved fathering? Gender & Society, 21(4), 508-527.

To me what family roles are when the mother and father are both working, responsibilities are shared not assigned. My mother and father both work and they share the load of the bills and chores. Roles for the mother and father for the household varies. The reason for that statement is that whenever my father comes home from work, he usually starts dinner and vise versa with my mother. Whomever comes home first cooks dinner is one role I would consider in the house. When bills are coming in, my mother and father will pay the bills together. My mother and father do not individually assign a bill to one another. As long as I can remember my mother worked during the times when I was a child. Working mothers balance work, school, and family life. According to the textbook, “because of problems balancing work and family life, it is the mother and not the father who cuts back on work or drops out of the work force altogether.” (Rathus, 2018, p. 296). This statement from the text means to me, the mother and father should strive to make sure taking care of their children is a responsibility that both of them should take on. Some of the time, the father would work full-time and the mother will only work a few days a week to take care of the kids (Pew Research Center, 2017). This was not the case of me growing up in a household where both of my parents worked a full-time job. Some families cannot afford to place their children in daycare, so therefore, the mother would have to make the decision of being a stay-at-mom. In conclusion, the roles of the mother and father should be shared and they should take on the responsibilities of the household together not separated.