Role of stay at home parent

I wasn’t able to reliably manage housework while watching my son until he was 2.5-3. Before that, I l needed to keep 100% of my attention on him whenever he was awake (or there would be messes/danger,) and when he was asleep there was no way in hell I would make noise and risk waking him.

If you can, I recommend taking a ‘Freaky Friday weekend’ in which you switch roles - you are in charge of baby for as many hours as you work during the week, while spouse leaves the house or goes to another room to work for the majority of the day (ideally not to rest, but to take care of errands or something reminiscent of your work day.) Pay attention to your energy level and how you manage your time in the SAHP-like context. If you are able to carve out times for chores, let your spouse know how you did it and what worked and what didn’t. If you are not able to find time for chores, then you will better understand his perspective. Also, check in with your spouse about how they feel coming home after a day away and seeing what they see. This may help them understand the feelings you have when you return home.

/r/Parenting Thread