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Families andWork: The JugglingAct

Thismay beexplainedin a coupleof ways.

Mothersmay feelthey aremoreadept at

childcarethan their husbands,or they may

seechildcareasthemoreenjoyableof the

twoactivities.Amatoet al.(2007)found,

overall,thepercentageof householdwork

husbandsweredoingandthenumber of

hourstheir wivesworkedoutsidethehome

werethebest predictorsof their wives’

perception of unfairness in work

distribution.

Theleveloffamilyincometendsto

determinetherelianceonoutsideservices.

Eventhoughmenarecontributingmore

timetohouseholdwork,womenstillputin

thebulkofhoursonhouseholdchores

(Parkman,2004).Infamilieswhichhold

moretraditionalviewsofgenderroles,wives

spendmanymorehoursonhousehold

chores(Parkman,2004).Infamilieswith

moreegalitariangenderroles,husbandsdo

morehousework—aboutonefourthofthe

houseworkintraditionalfamiliesandabout

onethirdofthehouseworkinegalitarian

families(Amato,Booth,Johnson,&Rogers,

2007).Menorwomenwhohavejobs

requiringmanyhoursawayfromhomewill

spendmuchlesstimeonhouseholdchores.

Studiesalsoindicatethatmenspendmore

timeinpaidemploymentthanwomen,

whichnaturallyaccountsforlessavailable

timeforhouseholdchores(Amatoetal.,

2007;Bianchi,Robinson,&Milkie,2006;

MarriedParents,2008;Parkman,2004).

Occasionallyhusbandscontributemore

tohouseholdchoresthantheirwives.For

example,anunemployedhusbandora

singlefatherwithcustodyofthechildren

mayspendmuchmoretimeonhousehold

chores.Thesesituationsaregenerally

consideredtemporary.The“househusband”

whoquitshisjobtosupporthiswife’scareer

andtakecareofthefamilyisararity—nota

culturalnorm.Infact,whiletheU.S.Census

estimates5.5millionparentsstayhomewith

theirchildren,onlyabout100,000arefathers

(TheFuturist,2005).

In egalitarian couples, husbands and wives

share household responsibilities.

In families with a stay-at-home father, both mothers and

fathers have a strong influence on their child’s development.

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