The conventional set up of the mum and dad is simple. Dad goes to work five days a week, while mums, working or not, take care of the house, the kids, and the dad. It’s just how it goes, people say. But one husband of a stay-at-home wife begs to disagree.
Dale Partridge — entrepreneur, writer, husband, and father — believes that childcare and housework are as important as his work. And he takes them all with equal seriousness.
Sleeping in on the weekends is a rare luxury for any parent. Dale believes that a husband’s restful weekend is a luxury that is “stolen from their wives.”
Unlike many conventional husbands (and perhaps, husbands-to-be), Dale looks at his stay at home wife, Veronica, differently. Veronica may not bring in an income, but Dale recognises the value of everything she does. He understands and appreciates the sheer amount of effort it takes to do them.
Image source: File photo
A message to all husbands of the stay-at-home wife
Dale shared a poignant post featuring a beautiful photo of his stay-at-home wife and child, and a message to other fathers out there.
“She spends all week serving me and the kids. I spend all week serving the bills. Most men think it’s a fair trade, but I doubt it,” the blogger and founder of StartupCamp.Com said.
“Husbands, we are no more entitled to a restful weekend than our wives.”
In his post, Dale urged other men to bear in mind that working 40 hours a week is just a cultural standard. Just because a man works doesn’t mean he should not share in their partner’s burdens at home.
“The badge of ‘breadwinner’ doesn’t authorise us to escape our home duties come Saturday and Sunday. The luxury of rest is a gift many men steal from their wives each weekend,” Dale wrote. “It’s okay to rest, God even commands it, just make sure you’re not the only one doing it.”
Inequity of sleep
Dale’s message is meaningful to families everywhere, since we still see women spending more hours on childcare and housework compared to their husbands. For many women, this is in spite of their jobs as well. According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) annual Time Use Survey, women are still putting more hours into housework than men do.
Another study, this time by the University of Michigan, revealed that married women spend seven hours more each week cleaning up after their husbands. Meanwhile, men have a decreased amount of housework after marriage — a privilege that men enjoy.
This inequity of rest and housework happens in many families. Too many men expect weekend mornings to be their time to enjoy rest while their wives take care of everything else. As partners in a family household, husbands and wives must share their burdens equally and treat this as a chance to strengthen their bonds.
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