A woman has poked fun at the division of labor between her and her husband when it came to looking after their two young children on a flight home from vacation.
The division of labor is a hotly debated topic among couples and households. In the past, when single-income families were more common, women picked up the bulk of the household responsibilities.
However, that has changed significantly since the majority of women entered the workplace. Or at least that is what many might assume. A study published in the academic journal Sociology Compass, however, suggests otherwise.
The study found that women in dual-income families still tended to take on more of the responsibility for planning family time such as vacations and worked more during leisure time, whether it be looking after the kids or cooking food.
The dynamics work a little differently for Kerry and her family, from Essex in the U.K. "I am working full time, and my husband is a night-shift worker, so he does tend to get tired during the day," she told Newsweek.
"We try to share the load as much as we can, but, like most households, there's always different perspectives on who's doing what. I joked the other day it's 90/10, and my husband laughed, saying, 'No way, you do way more than that!'"
Ultimately, Kerry said they do "work as a team" when it comes to looking after their four kids, two of whom are teenagers and two who are aged five and under.
"We both pitch in where we can," Kerry said. "It's just that we sometimes see the balance differently." One of those times came during a recent flight home from a vacation together.
Kerry said their two older children had taken a separate flight back, leaving her and her husband to contend with their two younger kids.
As luck would have it, the easyJet flight saw Kerry sat on the aisle seat of one row, with her two young kids beside her, while her husband was across the aisle from her. That put a fair bit of distance between her husband and their kids. Not that Kerry was all that bothered.
"The easyJet algorithm worked in his favor," Kerry said. "To be fair, he did ask if I wanted to swap and I said no as I thought I'd have all 3 of them needing something from me then."
Kerry said she expected her husband to help out with managing the two tots during what was a two-and-a-half hour flight.
"In my mind, I thought he would have a free pair of hands and can get up to get things," she said. "But the noise-canceling headphones went on pretty quick."
That left Kerry facing the bulk of the responsibility during the flight on her own. But she was able to see the funny side in it all, posting a video to her TikTok, @khaos_with_kerry, highlighting the contrast in roles on the flight.
As her humorous on-screen caption said, while Kerry was responsible for managing "snacks, toys, toilet breaks and meltdowns," her husband was more focused on managing his "playlist."
Kerry said she shared the clip because she felt it was a scenario "other moms could relate to."
Though it might have looked stressful, she said the flight went relatively smoothly. "It was fine," Kerry said. "The kids made friends with the lady sitting behind them. They didn't sleep on the flight, which at the time you think it would be easier if they did, but better for us when they crashed out as soon as we got home."
Ultimately, Kerry said she hopes videos like this highlight "the humor in the chaos of family life" and help other parents who might be struggling to realize they are not alone.
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