The idea of having a parenting partnership was unthinkable until a few decades ago. Surveys show that today’s dads are more involved than ever before. But there’s still a parenting divide that begins even before a baby is born. The mother develops competence in her skills as a parent, and dad often defers to her. What begins as a small divide when baby is born starts to multiply during maternity leave because she’s with the baby all day every day, and the divide just grows larger.
Some of this is just the nature of motherhood; in many ways, it’s natural and good. But with more moms working, we really do need parenting partners, not just a helper. So in this episode, we talk about how to cooperate with our husbands, lean on each other’s parenting strengths, and communicate better about our parenting needs.
We toss around a few big questions, like these: If both parents are working full time, how do moms keep from being the one who takes on all the parenting tasks like appointments, communication with teachers, and making sure shoes fit? We also ask what dads bring to parenting and what we can do to help our husbands be better dads.
Throughout the conversation, we reflected on how a parenting partnership is a lot like a business partnership (just with hopefully more love and affection!). Not all business partners have the same ideas or the same style, but they should have the same main objectives. They compromise, communicate, discuss issues privately, and divide up responsibilities based on strengths. How can you and your husband cooperate better to help your family grow in love every day?
Articles We Mentioned
5 Ways You Can Help Your Husband Be a Better Dad
5 Strengths Dads Bring to Parenting
When You Resent Your Husband After Having a Baby
Find or Start an All Pro Dad Chapter
Pew Research Center Facts About American Dads
Printables We Think You’ll Like
