The first draft of this post quickly turned in to me complaining, so it was discarded. What I actually intended to write was a break-down of the roles each family member plays in running the homestead.
We’ll start with Mom’s tasks, in no particular order:
- Child rearing- keep kids healthy and safe, educate them, and give them the love and nurturing they need to thrive.
- Household management- writing bills, managing income, budgeting, organizational maintenance
- Gardening- seed selection, land preparation, growth maintenance
- Cleaning- dishes, laundry, bathrooms, vacuuming, etc.
- Meal planning- grocery lists/shopping, menu planning, meal preparation.
Dad’s tasks:
- Income earning- job outside the home to make money that provides for our family
- Household administrator/Spiritual leader- as head of household, Dad guides and directs the management which mom then carries out. He’s also responsible for being our spiritual leader taking the family to church, leading us in prayer and Bible study, and discipling our children.
- Child rearing- as a shared responsibility, parenting is a big job and kids need both parents. He plays with and loves the kids and teaches them as well. My husband and I are very complimentary in our parenting styles so it works nicely that he fills in what I lack and vice versa.
- Manual labor tasks- takes care of the bigger construction projects and homestead tasks that are either too large or heavy or difficult for Mom to do, or that can’t be done alone.
Child tasks: Right now, both kids are a little young to do much, but we’re teaching our son to
- Help with laundry- load washer and dryer, fold clothes and put them away
- Put away dishes and silverware
- Feed and water our animals
- Put away his toys
There are of course shared tasks like animal care, parenting, various chores like taking out the garbage. But it’s important that each person fulfills their primary role so that the homestead can run smoothly.
Wholly Holy Living 