Will Work At Home Dads Become Mr. Mom? Experts Disagree

Will Work At Home Dads Take Over More Household Chores Now That They Are At Home?

One of my favorite magazines, The Week ("The best of the US and International Media"), had an article in it's March 6, 2009 edition asking, "Will jobless dads become Mr. Mom?"

My wife and I instantly disagreed about what that meant, and she was right.

Will Dads working at home take over more of the household chores? The article says, NO.

"With men experiencing 82% of the recession's job losses" quoting Emily Bazelon from Slate.com, "we may be on the verge of an 'uninvited cultural shift.' Millions of homes across America now have laid-off dads who, in theory, have more time to pick up the kids from school, start dinner, and assume some of the domestic responsibilities shouldered by working moms.

"But this is only true in theory.

"Men tend to view their jobs as essential to their identities and their masculinity, so losing a job often leaves them depressed and angry.

"Not many of them are likely to become spearheads for feminism's next wave. In fact, time-use studies reveal that unemployed men 'don't do more child care than they did before they lose their jobs.'

"Instead of morphing into Mr. Mom, they sleep, watch television, and look for work.

"So while some feminists may view the husband-at-home syndrome as a 'silver lining' inside otherwise gloomy times, it probably won't lead to more equal sharing of domestic chores. In fact, 'it has backlash written all over it."

Here's How My Wife And I Worked Out The Chores While I Work At Home And She Works Outside Of Our Home

For myself, I told my wife years ago that while I believe she is a super woman, she is not Superwoman. She could not continue to work outside the home and do all the chores. She does the shopping, I do the laundry; I vacuum the upstairs, she cleans downstairs; she cooks a main piece of meat to store in the refrigerator, and she and I then get our own meals which we sometimes eat together.

I work here, she is out of the house for work. I fix my own lunch (quickly eating and back to the computer), and when we're both home around dinner and I break away from the computer in time, we eat together at the kitchen table. (Our daughters are both successful and out of our home.)

One time while traveling I read a book that talked about doing things like the laundry doesn't get in the way of life, it IS life. And doing a good job with the laundry is a small way to show my wife that I love her.

So I think about that every time I'm folding one of her blouses or hanging her pants for her to put away.

And since I generally use Mondays as my administrative day for my work (lining up things for the rest of the week, backing up the computer, straightening up my office), I can be interrupted by the dryer's buzz when a load is finished and waiting for the next.

Tell Me What YOU Do While Working Arom Home

So… leave a comment – tell me what YOU do to help around the house.

We're all in this together – and helping our wives will bring us all closer together as we figure out this economy and how we can best work at home.

Best,

Charlie Seymour Jr
A Work At Home Dad, succeeding in this economy

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