Parenting – A Guide to Sharing Responsibilities At Home

Parenting is a challenging skill that no amount of pre-baby training can prepare you for. The first few months into parenting can be quite daunting, especially with your first child. Nevertheless, it’s quite a fun journey if both partners engage in open communication and are careful about their parental responsibilities together. As a mother of one baby girl, I know that moms play a bigger role in crucial parenting steps from breastfeeding, and changing diapers, to setting a sleeping schedule.

But your other half can also partake in your parental responsibilities so that you can get some time to yourself. It may sound a bit stressful sharing duties with your partner, but it’s not that hard. Below, I’ve mentioned a few ways that helped me share parental responsibilities with my other half at home. Honestly, the only way it really worked out was through open-communication.

Ways to Divide Parental Responsibilities with Your Partner

1.      Set a Schedule

When you finally bring your newborn home, countless unexpected responsibilities may come up. It can be hard to keep track of all these and get them done on time. To manage all your responsibilities, you will need help from your partner. You’ll have to create a schedule to ensure you fulfill all your responsibilities on time. Your baby’s parenting schedule will include timings for everything like breastfeeding, nappy, changes, sleeping, and any other activities. By allotting timings, you and your partner can share responsibility so that one of you can take a breather while the other looks after the baby.

2.      Create a Bedtime Plan

In the first few weeks after you give birth, your baby will sleep more and be up less, unless they sense you sleeping at night and are in the mood to throw a crying fit. For some parents, a night’s sleep is out of the question with a newborn. Eventually, it begins to affect your physical and mental health.

To prevent this and get a fair share of sleep, come with a sleeping plan with your partner. This way, you know whose job it is to attend to your baby at a certain time. Sleep shifts are a must when it comes to shared parenting. It’s also beneficial in setting your baby’s sleeping schedule. Besides preventing you from losing sleep, it leads to fewer arguments, which are always bound to happen.

3.      Distribute Household Chores

Household chores will never stop, and once your baby arrives, you’ll have extra chores. Taking care of the baby and managing the house together is a difficult task. The best thing to do is split chores around the house with your partner. So if your baby is asleep, one of you can handle the kitchen, and the other can work on laundry or outdoor fixtures. If your baby is up, plan it in a way that one spends time with the baby while the other takes care of house chores for a while. This will keep your house spick and span at all times, and you don’t compromise on giving time to your baby either.

4.      Both Should Take Time for Self-Care

Both partners must remain healthy and active for their baby, but with so many responsibilities building up, it can be quite challenging. Talk it out with your partner and set a day where one of you gets a day to yourself at least twice a week. You can take this day to go to the spa, shopping, or for a run. Even during your normal days, give each other two hours for some individual care. This also leaves you at peace that someone you trust is taking care of your baby.

Takeaway

Parenting is tough, but it’s easier when both partners share responsibilities and are part of the process. This doesn’t only make life a little stress-free, but it’s also good for the baby and their environment. This way, your child recognizes you as parents. With the help of these tips, you can seamlessly share parental roles with your partner.