How do you divide parenting responsibilities between you and your partner?
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Are you using the word ‘divide’ bc parents aren’t together but coparenting? If so, I plan on communicating the end goals for my child with the dad. From establishing eating habits, emotional discipline, mental health and development, activities, tech. Part of raising a sane child is for the parents to be on the same page about the child. If the word ‘divide’ is used for parents in the same household, I would recommend therapy for the parents before child starts labeling ‘fun’ parent, ‘mean’ parent, etc., Parents should not be dividing responsibilities, rather enforcing the parenting plan you gave mutually agreed on. Just my two cents.
@Melissa I love this perspective! We all have different hobbies and activities we enjoy. As parents we will expose our kids to them. I love that the parent with the greater strength in the area is the one to lead it.
We go with the flow and share things out. 3 years in seems to be working! We both work full time so it has to be shared but we don’t say “Tuesdays you do bath”. We mix tasks up so that the kids are flexible and don’t get too stuck on a routine of mummy does this and daddy does that. If tired the other picks up the slack or if one is caught up at work or if the other is away socialising. It works for us
We don't do anything formalized or try to keep everything "equal", because we felt that would start to create resentment and it would feel like we were living as roommates. We just both make an effort to be involved as much as possible. And when we need a break, we let the other know. That said we do have a few things that ended up accepted by unspoken agreement as one person's primary responsibility - I do mornings and lunch, night wakings, naps, general entertainment, and am kind of in control of teaching and development. He cooks dinner while I play with kiddo and then they do bath while I clean up and take a few minutes to myself, then we do bedtime routine together, and he puts her to sleep every night. It works for us.