Experiment No. 21: Support Network

The Basics

We’re Trying to Solve: More equally shared parenting/division of labor
Target Audience: Individuals
Ages: Adults
Category: Mental load
Estimated Time: Ongoing
Difficulty Level: Easy

The work of managing a household is hard enough. Adding to that work the burden of figuring out how to change the habits of others and rebalance the division of labor at home can feel totally overwhelming. Our hope is that BLLx has helped you feel less alone with this journey than you did before. You are not the only family working to find a better balance and to create the routines that will keep that balance in place, and an enormous amount of research has suggested there’s real value in connecting with others who are confronting similar challenges, learning from one another, and sharing the weight of what you’re working through, rather than going it alone.

Directions

1. Join a community of individuals or families who are trying to raise awareness and share the load at home more fairly. This might be a group of friends who are all juggling busy work and family schedules. Maybe it’s a neighborhood group or friends from work who are also thinking through how to share the load at home. And please join our new BLLx Facebook group for beta testers!
2. Share a little about yourself with the group! You might start with a little about your household, the hurdles you’re facing, what you’ve tried, so far, and how you feel about it all.
3. Listen to others. Offer any advice or words of support you can based on your own experience, and learn from what they tell you about their own work to rebalance the load.
4. Repeat! Often! Come back to this community regularly.

Connect With the Better Life Lab

Are you going to try this week’s experiment? Do you have a story about how you and your own family solved a problem with the work at home? Is there a specific challenge you’ve been trying to tackle? Can this experiment be improved? Please let us know via this form, at bllx@newamerica.org, or in our Facebook group for BLLx Beta Testers.

Be sure to also sign up for our biweekly newsletter!