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Are we counting all time spent with children as a chore? Don't get me wrong, I'm a father of two. Like you, our work is not split evenly, though I like to thin

Are we counting all time spent with children as a chore? Don't get me wrong, I'm a father of two. Like you, our work is not split evenly, though I like to think I take on a higher share than most similarly situated men. There are times when my time with my sons can be trying, and I can get behind counting some fraction of that time as work. On the other hand, just today my son and I spent three hours going to and from a playdate with a friend of his. I'm also friends with the dad. It was a pleasant time for all involved, and we got some sun and some exercise. This is not an atypical way for us to spend a Sunday afternoon. If this is accounted for as "work" then I would say the statistic is a bit misleading, as that is not something most people I know would consider labor.

ljf 7y ago
And I also had a 3 hour meeting today with co-workers that I enjoy working with, solving a problem we all care about. That was work. I'll be commuting home for an hour. That is work. Tonight I'll be putting the kids to bed, then tidying up the kitchen. That is also work. I think it is fair to say, that as an adult with kids, much of your time that you aren't doing something just for you, will to a degree be work. And that is OK. As long as you and your partner are happy with the split you have, then that is OK too.
mcv 7y ago
It's a fuzzy area. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. When we do something together that I also enjoy, then it isn't. When it's about something he wants and I'm just there because I need to be while I'd rather be doing something else, then it's a chore. I don't think there's any way to objectively measure that.