Do you do the majority of the housework in your home? A recent study has reinforced what we all already know, women, including working mothers, do the majority of housework, cooking and childcare. Why are people surprised by this?
Since the dawn of time women have been responsible for the majority of housework. The division seems to be, women take care of the inside of the house and men take care of the outside.
As we raise our children we reinforce those roles. Little girls help fold the laundry and run the vacuum. Little boys help mow the lawn, fix the car and paint the fence.
I’m not pointing the finger at anyone, that’s just the way it is. We women complain about doing the lions share of the work, but most of us do it because no one does it as well as we do. And we instill that in our daughters.
From a young age our girls see us taking on the responsibility for the cooking and cleaning and laundry. We show them that we know best by teaching them there is a right way and a wrong way to do something. Our way is right, anything else is wrong.
I’m afraid we’ve broken that mold in my house. My daughter rarely did housework and now she is married. Her husband was raised by a single mother who made him pull his weight. Now my son in law does the cooking, cleaning and laundry.
I’m slowly teaching Hailey the things she needs to know to keep her own house and cook her own meals. A tiny little part of me wants to tell her not to get too good at it or it will be her job forever. At the same time, I feel bad for my son in law.
The quandary of expectations.