Planning, stress and worry put the mental load on mothers – will 2022 be the year they share the burden?
The COVID pandemic has made the very private issue of the domestic division of labour – the way housework and childcare are divided – a very public issue.
During lockdowns, the burden of housework and childcare grew significantly for men and women in opposite-sex and same-sex couples both in Australia and elsewhere.
Overnight, homes became offices, childcare centres and makeshift schools and it was mothers who largely stepped into these teaching and caring roles at the expense of their anxiety levels and sleep.While the pandemic exacerbated the physical demands of care – housework and childcare – it also exacerbated another part of the work that keeps households and families running: the mental load…