Shared Domestic Schedule Means Gains All Round

The Age

Tuesday July 10, 2007

Dewi Cooke

LIFE in the Hilder household is a flurry of dance and singing lessons, netball and basketball practice and the "quiet" days - Thursday and Friday - are eagerly anticipated.

Parents Jeff and Yama try to divide their busy domestic schedule evenly.

Mr Hilder takes on cooking duties most nights while Mrs Hilder, a chef, ferries the children to and from their extra-curricular commitments.

"I do enjoy cooking for dinner parties but day to day . . . he's just taken over more of that side of it. And also doing the dishes, and he does the shopping on Saturdays," Mrs Hilder said.

The balance has been struck over time. Mrs Hilder returned to work about a year after the births of each of their daughters, Rosie, 16, and Grace, 8, and has gradually increased her working hours.

Mr Hilder, a transport worker, now works rotating night shift but sees doing his share of household work as a natural progression from a childhood spent mucking in.

"I grew up on a farm and we would spend our weekends working on the farm and I'd help my mother doing the dishes," he said. "I left home quite young and you just had to go to the laundromat and do your washing. I've always enjoyed cooking and in high school I did some cookery subjects, so domestic stuff has never been a problem for me."

Their division of labour has also meant that Mr Hilder has been intimately connected to his daughters' lives and both parents believe it has given them a clearer insight into each other's day-to-day concerns.

"I think it's good. I think it gives you a more even understanding of what's involved," Mrs Hilder said. "And I think it's more the norm that mothers do work. I think you understand each other more."

© 2007 The Age

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