Moms, are we delegating?

Moms are sincere, hardworking, loving and caring. Moms are also smart, great in crisis management and time management. Somehow every mom seems to be no less than a leader. But there is one thing I wish moms learn to do more, and that's “delegation”. I don’t wish to generalize as every country and culture is different and perhaps there are many women or moms out there who has no problem in delegating.

Leaders will generate leaders. Leaders will equip others with all the knowledge needed to survive or rather thrive. So let's take a scenario, a dad is out of town for few days. Everyday tasks are carried out by mom with ease and with no doubt. She drives, she cuts the lawn, drops child to school, pays bills online and so on. Now let's say a mom is out of town or even sick may be. Dad is totally confused, he is not aware what time the kids go to school, what should they take with them, what do they eat for breakfast, and even worse what medications do they take in case of cold. It's a total chaos. I know many moms would relate to this and just laugh it off on dad’s ignorance. Maybe it's ignorance to some extent, but I think this chaos can be largely avoided by mom’s continuous delegation of work.

It is not just delegating cooking alone. But have him take care of the house in general once a week at least. Send dad to school once in awhile and to parent teacher conferences. Delegation may be easier for moms working outside. I agree to some extent, but sadly even now women tend to come back home from work and take charge of household duties. It might be out of sheer love or just out of cultural pressures or expectations. But that is just going to create that great divide of assumed roles in a family.

Remember one thing, it is not just cooking, cleaning and babysitting. But we are raising very observant tiny humans who watch and learn from every family dynamics. Sons & daughters should watch mom going out as well as dad taking care of household or vice versa with no hesitation. This would teach them to be independent, respect both genders and also abolish the thought of assumed roles.

To further improvise, delegate tasks to children too. Allot time to clean up as a family on every weekend, it is also a great way of bonding. Delegate to your babysitter, for all the good reasons.

So it is not just for giving moms a break, but to equip every other person involved with adequate knowledge to operate successfully in all circumstances.