Littlemummy.com

Raisngkids has identified a new kind of family unit, the ‘relay parents’.

Relay parents take turns of working and looking after the kids, working in ‘shifts’. They report that research shows that parents are spending more time with their kids but less time together or as a family unit.

How it works for us…

Over the past six months what was a part time job for me sometimes exceeded twenty-five or thirty hours. My husband works shifts and I slotted my shifts around his, we took turns of looking after our daughter. Occasionally, family stepped in when our shifts overlapped. We are a new breed of ‘relay parents’, we liken it to a conveyor belt that never ends.

The Pros

As the report identified, less money worries, more hours worked equals more money.

Little, or no requirement for costly childcare, meaning you keep more of what you earn.

A feeling that everyone is contributing both to the financial and childcare aspects of the home.

The Cons

After a while you feel your sole purpose is to be at work or assuming the role of primary child-giver.

Less time to spend/enjoy the money you’ve earned.

The requirement to ‘synchronize’ diaries constantly, and then there’s the housework which needs to be slotted in somewhere.

Eventually becoming ‘ships that pass in the night’, also a feeling of constantly ‘going through the motions’ rather than living life.

The Future

As parents and families we are constantly looking for that happy balance of working and earning, and enjoying life and our family. Relay parenting may have been better than both working full time, but what’s better than relay parenting? Multiple income streams, read my article here…