Dad Compares His 'Massive Day at Work' to His Wife's SAHM Schedule

Whether you’re a working mom or dad or a stay-at-home parent, both jobs are hard. And while there are a lot of misunderstandings when it comes to what it’s really like to be a parent who stays home with the kids, it’s certainly no walk in the park.

Brad Kearns, known for his popular parenting blog DadMum, sheds some wisdom on this topic. Taking to Facebook, he compares his busy day to his wife’s, and it’s pretty eye-opening.

“Massive day at work today. We have our monthly senior leadership meeting,” he explains. “I have to sit there all day and do important workie stuff and have big work conversations. It’s exhausting. And what’s my wife doing? Not much really.”

Now, before you get your pitchforks ready to take down the dad for his seemingly blasé remark, make sure you read the rest of his post. Here, he breaks down every little thing his wife is doing during the day while he does “workie stuff,” and it is anything but “not much really.”

“All she has to do is get two boys up, dressed and fed whilst breastfeeding the third. Then, no doubt they’ll need to be taken outside or to a park to get all that energy out. How easy is that,” he sarcastically asks. “All she has to do is sort their bags out, find the hats, pack some snacks and a spare change of clothes and buckle them into the car.”

When you read between the lines of Kearns’s post, it’s easy to see the respect he has for his wife’s constant juggling act. He walks us through the rest of her day, which is nothing short of her head constantly spinning from the kids running amuck, trying to be the mediator of sibling fights, and, of course, more nursing the baby.

“Well at 5:00 she’ll want to know where I’m at and how I’m tracking…I’ll probably reply with a ‘call you back’ message because I’m busy as f*ck,” he says.

While he’s caught up being “busy,” the mama will be “exhausted from non-stop torment and not a second to herself all day…She’ll be tired, smelly, frustrated and sick of being touched. She’ll be irritable, yucky and want nothing more than a shower, a shampoo and a hot cup of tea.”

“On the weekend, she’ll tell [our son] he has a motorbike because ‘daddy works very hard for our family,’” he comments. But although his wife, Sarah, may not realize it, she works just as hard.

The dad ends his note by giving a shout out to his selfless and hard working partner-in-crime, saying “thank you for everything you do for us. You’re the glue.”

The secret to a successful marriage is respect and gratitude for your partner, which may sometimes be easier said than done. For those days when you need a little help, let the Lasting app get you both back on track. It acts as your very own personal marriage counselor, right at your fingertips.