Search Results for: blog division of labor when you work from home

Learning Marriage from Your Parents

I was raised with somewhat progressive views on marriage.  It feels strange to even be typing that, and it’s certainly nothing I ever thought growing up.  I know that on the overall spectrum of views on marriage, the ideals with which I was raised would only be in the middle, and probably closer to the conservative side of the middle.  But it’s still so surprising to me how many people aren’t even that far. I’ve already shared my story about my college roommate.   The reason she and her boyfriend didn’t talk for years about division of labor in the household, … Continue reading →

Are You Married to a Bad Dad?

To answer the question we must first define “bad.” Are we talking Alec Baldwin bad, Jon Gosselin bad, Mel Gibson bad or “Slumdog Millionaire” dad bad? Or, do you lump your child’s co-parent into the “bad” category due to his lack of participation in the daily upbringing of the child he clearly participated in conceiving? If you selected the latter, then you might be interested in the results of a new study that examines the gap between genders when it comes to “unpaid economy” or what us lay folk refer to as the daily grind of housework and childcare. The … Continue reading →

Division of Labor When You Work From Home

Figuring out who does what around the house can be tough enough when both spouses or parents work outside the home (and even for a single parent who may share some of the domestic duties with his or her older children), but I wanted to explore how household chores and labor get divided up when one of the parents or partners runs a home business. Organizing family life and work, and managing time is definitely a challenge, but I’m interested in whether individuals who work from home offices are doing more of the grocery shopping, housekeeping, child care, and miscellaneous … Continue reading →

When to Ask the Big Questions

Last time I examined whether or not premarital counseling ought to be a considered option for couples before they marry. Today I’ll look at another part of the question: how much couples should know about each other before they approach the altar. The main reason why premarital counseling might be a good idea is because sometimes people don’t know the sorts of things they ought to know about each other before they get married. The idea was sparked by a girl who called into my local radio station to say that she’d signed herself and her fiance up for counseling. … Continue reading →

Gender Roles

One area where I think kids really benefit from growing up in a single parent home is the blurring of gender roles. In single parent homes there can be no traditional roles, after all, there is only one of us and the same things still have to be done. When I was married my ex husband and I had the traditional division of labor, I did all of the cooking, cleaning, shopping, laundry and most of the child care, basically anything inside the house. He took care of the yard and the garage. The only time that changed was every … Continue reading →

Mom Boss

It’s the battle of the Hallmark holidays: National Bosses Day vs. Sweetest Day. Typically, National Bosses Day is celebrated on October 16th, but since the 16th falls on a Saturday this year, it was moved to October 15th. Another reason for the move is that in 2010, Sweetest Day, which is celebrated on the third Saturday in October, falls on the 16th. What to do? In a perfect world moms would get pampered on both days. Heh! So what if the occasions are canned Hallmark holidays? We moms will take what we can get. Show a little love for the … Continue reading →

Spring Cleaning as a Family—All at Once or Over Time?

I tend to be the sort of person who wants to jump in and get a project done all at once. That goes for spring cleaning too—I like to set aside a Saturday and just really get down to it—dredging closets, cleaning out cupboards, washing all the rugs and curtains, etc. BUT, I’ve learned over time that if it’s going to be a “family project”—I might have to adjust my own personal style and allow for not only a division of labor, but also a breaking up of the time. Working on family projects—assuming that spring cleaning IS a family … Continue reading →

What Almost Every Mother Knows

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If there was room for it, the complete title for this blog would be “What Almost Every Mother Knows, But Keeps to Herself”. Yesterday, Nancy took our three oldest adopted children to visit our daughter and her husband for the night. They had planned activities for this morning. She left me at home with our four year old and 30 month old boys. Ok, I will admit it. Nancy is much better at taking care of children than I am. It does take both of us at home to raise them given the number and their special needs. When we … Continue reading →

Income for Single Moms

For many women going through a divorce or death of a spouse, starting over as a single mom is tough. Although challenges include running the household and supporting the children emotionally, there is always the financial aspect. Considering that some single moms have not been in the workforce for years, this challenge becomes even greater. If you are now a single mom but you have no idea what type of job to look for, I recommend you first consider your skills. Even though you may have been a stay-at-home mom without any skills to offer, the truth is that you … Continue reading →