On Men and Chores

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Today, we are having a guest blogger from across the pond as you will be able to guess from unique and sweet wordings. Rhianna is a SAHM to three rather awesome girls.  She shares the ups and downs of mothering, as well as her dream to one day be a real writer over at A Parenting Life

On Men and Chores

Whether we like it or not chores are a necessary part of life. While it would be an ideal world, if we could all afford to pay someone else, to carry out our daily chores, or better yet have a magic wand or fairy godmother on hand to take care of it all, we do not live in an ideal world. Chores are here to stay.

Should anyone have to do chores? Wouldn’t the world be a wonderful place if we were all exempt from the tiresome duties collectively known as chores? No more washing dishes, or hanging washing on the line. Freedom from the perils of dusting, sweeping and mopping. Oh, if only that were the way!

Women have spent over one hundred years fighting for equality. They have spent longer fighting continued oppression and domination. The days when it was accepted by the wider community that women should be the sole bearer of domestic work are apparently gone, though studies everywhere show that women are still the primary house-cleaner.

Why this unbalance occurs is unknown. Evidence shows that men are more than capable of maintaining an orderly abode. With marriages occurring later in life, thus extending the time that men spend as bachelors, modern men are becoming more accustomed to the laborious chores routinely performed by women. However for some reason, one commonly held opinion of these males is, that once they enter a relationship the responsibility of such things, belongs only to women.

Why can the working single man be able to complete household chores but not the married working man? Granted the single man has no other option, either he does the housework or he lives in a squalor which may ensure he stays a bachelor forever. This still doesn’t explain why as soon as a woman appears the man expects her to take care of everything domestic.

If working men don’t have to do chores, does that mean all gay couples have housemaids? Of course they don’t. So why is it acceptable for some men to work and do chores yet not for others? My only answer for this is disrespect and a lack of understanding. Unless you have personally tried to amuse a young child all day, while you partake in household chores you will never understand just how much work it is.

The problem is not enough people understand how much effort the stay at mum exerts in her daily activities. There is all the food preparation, serving and cleaning up after, at least three times a day. Then there is the clothes that need washing, drying, folding. Only to be put away for half a day till they get dragged out of the cupboard, worn for two hours, thrown on the floor and the process starts all over again. Not to mention amusing children or chauffeuring them to and from school/kindy/gym/sport or wherever else they need to go. Unlike hubby’s nice 9-5 job the life of domestic chores is 24/7, yet women who stay at home to nurture and care for children continually have to battle for recognition of the hours they put in.

Providing stimulating activities to young children while maintaining their happiness is no easy feat. It is certainly not made any easier with the addition of cooking, cleaning, washing and the many other hundreds of activities that a stay at home mum will complete on daily basis. While she may not get paid in a monetary sense her efforts are priceless and the stay at home mum deserves some assistance from the working man when he returns home. While for some it may be unreasonable to expect the man to cook a five course meal, ten minutes after he walks in the door, it is not unreasonable to ask him to take the rubbish out or assist with some other small but equally important chore. Even folding washing while watching the footy can be of great assistance.

Sharing the chores between all family members creates a team environment and promotes equality and fairness to all. Attributes that all youngsters should learn. There is no doubt in my mind that working men should do chores. In the words of Bob the Builder, “By working together we get the job done.”