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Compare Dad's Answers Mum's Answers In general, how many hours do you spend each day of the week doing the tasks listed here?   M T W T F S S   Bathing your baby   Walking your baby   Settling your baby to sleep   Playing with your baby   Cleaning the house   Cooking meals   Washing clothes   Washing dishes   Ironing   Working for pay   Doing household paperwork (like paying bills)   Food shopping   Attending to pets   Mowing / gardening   Caring for relatives   Car maintainence   Study   Answering the telephone   TOTAL HOURS:   In general, how many hours do you spend each day of the week doing the tasks listed here?   M T W T F S S   Bathing your baby   Walking your baby   Settling your baby to sleep   Playing with your baby   Cleaning the house   Cooking meals   Washing clothes   Washing dishes   Ironing   Working for pay   Doing household paperwork (like paying bills)   Food shopping   Attending to pets   Mowing / gardening   Caring for relatives   Car maintainence   Study   Answering the telephone   TOTAL HOURS:   In general, how many hours do you spend each day of the week doing the tasks listed here?   M T W T F S S   Bathing your baby   Walking your baby   Settling your baby to sleep   Playing with your baby   Cleaning the house   Cooking meals   Washing clothes   Washing dishes   Ironing   Working for pay   Doing household paperwork (like paying bills)   Food shopping   Attending to pets   Mowing / gardening   Caring for relatives   Car maintainence   Study   Answering the telephone   TOTAL HOURS:

Learning from your answers

Household tasks and infant care are not usually described as work, but are actually a major, but unpaid, workload. All couples need to develop the skills to discuss the division of the paid and unpaid workload. You will need to look at these arrangements regularly. These conversations have often not been necessary prior to the baby's birth. It can feel ridiculous and clumsy discussing household work, but the most common source of tension between mothers and fathers is when this work is unrecognised. It is important to be able to decide who will take responsibility for which task and to reach an agreement that feels fair. It's better to have these discussions when you are not feeling tired and when you can talk calmly!