Balanced parenting

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Balanced parenting, also known as shared parenting or equally shared parenting refers to the purposeful practice of parents in an intact home sharing equally in the raising of children, household chores, family breadwinning, and recreation time.

The concept of balance in this context extends to each of these four 'domains' within each parent's life as well. Balanced parenting is one means of addressing parental childrearing discrepancies, but also addresses aspects of personal growth, marital harmony, and the work-family conflict.

This parenting model refers to the lifestyles of the two parents, and not to the method of raising the children. It differs from most common models of parenting in that neither parent is the primary breadwinner and neither stays home with the children full-time. While not commonly practiced, it is gaining popularity among Generation X and Y balance-seekers.

In the purest sense, balanced parenting involves less-than-full-time work hours for both parents. This allows for each parent to have enough time with the children, maintain a meaningful career (albeit not always the hours desired), enjoy recreation / personal activities, and be with each other.

Balanced parenting resembles in many respects the "Model B" nuclear family described by Talcott Parsons in the 1950s. While life chances may influence the ease of balanced parenting, the concept is applicable to most familial permutations, including unmarried and same-sex couples.

[edit] Motivations of balanced parenting proponents

While the goals of balanced parent proponents are naturally varied, they can be divided into reactions against components of traditional family structures and toward idealized alternatives.

Negative aspects of traditional family dynamics include frustrations of full-time working fathers who would prefer a greater role in childrearing and of (working and stay-at-home) mothers who resent shouldering a disproportionate share of childrearing and housekeeping.

Positive aspects of balanced parenting include enhanced marital intimacy and mutual appreciation for efforts in all aspects of family management, increased competence in housework/childrearing by the traditional at-work parent, avoidance of resume gaps for either parent while raising young children, and deep and intimate relationships between both parents and their children. Frequently, balanced parenting also results in minimal paid childcare requirements, in comparison to standard dual income parenting, and more financial income than traditional stay-at-home parent arrangements.