Trending: Gamifying the Domestic Load

The struggle to balance household and parenting tasks in a partnership and nurture that partnership is a very real one. 

This survey by the Pew Research Center confirms what a lot of people feel daily.

Maybe a card deck can help balance the load?

While not new, the Fair Play card deck, an offshoot of the book Fair Play by Eve Rodsky and the Fair Play Institute, pops up in the news from time to time—even mentioned by celebrities—as a tool to help manage parenting and chores.

What started as a spreadsheet listing all of the invisible tasks Rodsky managed in her family has become a card deck with 100 household responsibilities that include cues for planning and how to make things happen.

Here’s a sample of the cards in the deck. Do any of these surprise you?

• Bedtime routine for kids

• Calendar keeper

• Adult friendships

• Cash and bills

• Cleaning

• Civic engagement and cultural enrichment

• Dry cleaning

• Birth control and family planning

• Gifts (VIPs)

• Garbage

• Marriage and romance

• Weekend plans

It’s not a glamorous gift, but I wonder if this card deck could be something to slip into the care baskets or packages we send to the new parents—and maybe even all the parents and couples—in our lives. 

In Chicago Parenting News:

• Here are the items that qualify for the back-to-school tax holiday starting August 7.

• Parents and teachers worked to rescue salvageable books that were found in dumpsters outside of former Acero schools.

• Chicago is the ninth most expensive commuting city in the country.

• There’s a new sculpture garden in Englewood on what used to be vacant lots.

Parenting IRL: Are Birth Plans Helpful?

From our member discussion board: Did you make a birth plan? Did anything actually go to plan?

Many folks who chimed in about the merits of a birth plan generally agree that birth plans aren't really helpful or necessary. 

Others think birth plans can help you think through some important things, like communicating with your partner and considering interventions.  

Another common thread? More than a birth plan, having a knowledgeable doula present made all the difference.

What’s your take?

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