Divisions of household work, routines, and child care occupations in families

This article tells the stories of three families with traditional and non‐traditional divisions of household work in order to demonstrate various methods that they used to divide the work within their family.

Abstract

Abstract To meet their family's needs, parents must create and maintain daily routines that are sustainable, meaningful, provide opportunities to shape their children's development, and meet the often conflicting and competing needs of individual family members. As the number of women participating in paid work outside of the home continues to increase, parents are faced with the dilemma of how to create and maintain routines that facilitate their accomplishment of the work required to meet their family's needs for both economic support and physical and psychological nurturance of their children. This article tells the stories of three families with traditional and non‐traditional divisions of household work in order to demonstrate various methods that they used to divide the work within their family. These stories are followed by a discussion of differences in routines and patterns of engagement in child care occupations found in families with non‐traditional and traditional divisions of household work. This article contributes to a growing body of knowledge in occupational science that captures the complexity of occupation through its description, exploration of its meaning, and portrayal of its storied nature in people's lives.