The Complete Guide to Equal Parenting

Every family has many duties to fulfill and various goals to attain. It will not be okay if only one member strives to make things happen. The family must work as a team and support one another to get things done. One such task is parenting and equal parenting is a popular concept in the present century wherein the mother and the father will be sharing housework, baby-care, bread winning, and also having some me-time.

The Complete Guide to Equal Parenting

This is a game-changing concept because the stereotypes that man is the sole breadwinner who goes to work and woman stay home to take care of children are being broken. Hence there develops adjustment in working hours, sharing of household work which ultimately reduces the stress of the individuals.When both parents are committed to working together on common family goals, it sets a great example of teamwork and support that goes a long way in the child’s life.

When is the right time to start equal parenting?

There is no fixed time to start equal parenting. Once the couple becomes parents, the process of equal parenting must begin. Once after delivering the baby, the new mother will have struggles both physically and mentally. The newborn baby also requires attention continuously. Hence this is when the father can step in and support his wife to take care of the newborn baby. There will be a constant need to feed, change diapers, and pamper the child while crying. The parents will have to swap the sleeping hours to take off the child. Equal parenting starts with these small tasks and later as the child grows, other important, big responsibilities will line up for both the parents which they will have to share.

How is equal parenting useful for the children?

The home is the first school for the child because many important things in life are learned by the child at home. The first thing that the child notices are the way how to treat each other especially while noticing the parents. How the father treats the mother and vice versa, is there respect, care, and concern? These are one of the important building blocks of the child’s personality hence when equal parenting is happening, the child learns the importance of sharing and equality. He learns that there is no gender-biased work. Even if any gender stereotype exists, it’s broken. When the parents work as a team, the child will learn about teamwork and how one must support the other person so that ultimately the work is done and both the parties benefit from it. Hence the child learns that cooperation, adjustment, patience, and guidance are very important for survival. Through equal parenting, it is made sure that both the parents spend equal quality time with the child, while emotionally connects the child with both the parents. This helps in the emotional development of the child and the child will share problems asks doubts, will take part in discussions that need guidance and support from the parents. This will not just help the child in his/her childhood but also later in adulthood and the relationships they establish in the future. It will be helpful for the child in all stages of the starting from school, college, work, marriage, and life.

Ways to establish equal parenting

1. Break the Breadwinner Attitude

It is not always that a man must be the breadwinner of a family. It is from the evolutionary perspective that man must bring home food and women must cook it. It is not only men but also women who earn for the family and in equal parenting, it must be understood that both parents can take up the breadwinner role and can contribute financially.

2. Work as a Team

When there are two parties i.e. the mother and father, it does not mean that they are different teams and turn against each other. Both of the parents must understand that they belong to the same team and their only goal is to bring up the child and build a happy family which can be done only if they cooperate and be there for each other.

3. Transparent Communication

Many misunderstandings arise when there is a lack of communication. It is always better when the parents talk with each other and tell what they can do and cannot do. This is especially important while sharing the tasks and responsibilities. They must sit together and see what changes can be made to improve the situation.

4. Divide and Conquer the Tasks

There are endless tasks for the parents to do. It is always better to divide tasks between the mother and father so that it will be done efficiently. One person alone will not be burdened with a load of work, instead, the load is shared. Instead of assigning the same task for a person, a new task can also be given so that they will have experience in that too.

5. Prepare Chore Chart

Equal parenting requires a lot of planning and it can be achieved by creating a chore chart. With the help of this, a list of the various activities can be mentioned, and during what time of the week will each of the parent is expected to do the activity. This can be on a weekly basis and can also change in the upcoming weeks. It makes sure that the work is divided equally and that too in a scheduled time.

6. Break The Stereotypes

Society has specific expectations for a man and a woman. But these are always not true. These expectations usually make women a weaker gender and hence only when these stereotypes are broken, equal parenting will emerge. There is no use to have these expectations in the mind and wanting to practice equal parenting. So men can also cook, clean take care of babies and it is not always a woman’s job.

7. Respect Each Other

Respecting your partner’s feelings, desires and accepting them for who they are is important in marriage. It also serves as a key to equal parenting. Only when they respect, they care for each other and will adjust. Hence there will proper communication, proper division of tasks and efficiently completing it as well.

Be the change and support #EqualParenting . This post is part of Blogchatter’s CauseAChatter’