Worcester and Droitwich Branch
strong relationship with
“it gives you a new kind of
their father – and of
course the best way of de- respect in your relationship
veloping that relationship when you pull your weight
is to spend as much time with childcare”
as possible with them
when they are very young. It‟s also tremendously enjoyable, interesting and rewarding to invest yourself in
childcare full-time: all the fun you have at the weekend
and evenings doesn‟t get diluted when you go to seven
days a week. And of course, through all of this time you
are developing a closer relationship, which makes it a lot
easier to rub along together later on.
As well as being good for my relationship with Emile, I
also found staying at home to be really good for my relationship with my partner. It stands to reason that during
the stressful period immediately after having a child it‟s
probably going to be bad for your relationship having
one of you looking after that child all the time and the
other away for long hours earning money. There‟s
something about sharing work and childcare as equally
as possible that helps you understand and support each
other better: if you‟ve recently experienced a tantrum in
the supermarket or politics in the office, then you‟re
more likely to stop dwelling on your own problems and
more able to offer some constructive support.
More than this, it gives you a new kind of respect in your
relationship when you pull your weight with childcare
(and not just because you now know as well as she
does what tricks to pull to get food down your baby or
what size shoes to put on him).
Worcester and Droitwich Branch Autumn 2015
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