Share the Load
- Lifestyle, Parenting

Sons, share the Load

Sons, Share the load

“Hey mom, have you washed by Green tee-shirt?”, “Wifey, Is my yellow sweater in the laundry?” Do these questions sound very familiar to you, ladies? If yes, then it is pretty obvious that you are the prime caretaker of all the chores in your home, irrespective of whether you are working or homely. This scenario in Indian society is grave if you ask me. We teach our daughters to be financially independent, career oriented and ambitious apart from teaching them household work. What we forget is to teach our sons to be responsible around the house too and share the load.

Unfortunately, cooking meals, doing laundry, keeping the house spic and span etc are solely considered to be a woman’s job. Many women today are working in offices or are managing a business. But, they have to struggle to strike a balance between professional commitments, household duties, raising kids and what not! Well, there is no paperwork that lists that a woman alone has to take care of her home and kids, correct?

Need of the Hour

There is a need to change our outlook and urge our sons, brothers and even husbands to #sharetheload. Let us start with a very small change, say let us get the men in the house to do the laundry. Most of us have automatic washing machines at our place. It is barely a two minutes job to dump the dirty clothes in the machine, throw in some detergent like Ariel and start the machine. Again, spreading out the clothes to dry out on a clothesline takes 5-10 minutes tops! However, this little help takes off a lot of burden off minds of the women in the house.

After a long and stressful day at work and probably a drive back home, the ladies do get exhausted just like men. So, while the woman can take care of meals, the hubby and son can pick up some other task to do. It could be laundry, helping kids pack their bags, watering the plants, filling the bottles or grocery shopping. Literally anything that gives a breather to the ladies in the house.

My Story

We are a family of three with our only son being 17. From his childhood, we have given him a free environment where he is free to address us with our first names when he wants to rather than the usual “mummy” and “Daddy”. We also have taught him to be self dependant while doing the household chores and this has automatically brought the #SharetheLoad attitude in him. Since we have many pets at home, it is not possible for all three of us to go out for social functions. Most times, he agrees to stay back and does all the household chores right from making his basic snacks, doing the utensils in the sink and also doing the laundry. He knows how to operate the washing machine and also understands the importance of doing 2 separate rounds sorted by color, when there are more clothes to be washed.

I am happy to have inculcated such habits in him since childhood. He has a larger social circle with likeminded girls and boys of his age getting inspired by him. Ariel launched their campaign to instill this right attitude in the mothers to teach boys about sharing the load, sooner in their life say right from teenage.

Share the Load

Our Appeal

These habits and values if taught in the right way can sow the seeds of a positive change in the Indian society. They say charity begins at home! I and my son have been firm believers of #sharetheload of housework with the lady of our house, my wife, for quite some years, now. Trust me, it is fun and I get lots of appreciation and pampering for being considerate. I am now more focused on making all my neighbors and friends aware of the importance of “Sons Share the Load” campaign which is definitely creating ripples with 15 million views worldwide in 2 weeks.

I am sure me and my son will change many mindsets and succeed in improving the stats in my area. I and my son realized the importance of #ShareTheLoad movement. Have you? Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Utpal K

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57 thoughts on “Sons, share the Load

  1. The stereotype of women bearing the household chores load should be broken! This is truly an inspiration and makes me want to teach my son that his mom and his sister arent the ones who have to pick after him, but he needs to help around the house too! Great post!

  2. Dear sir,
    Such a great initiative! Gone are the days when only women were held responsible for home chores. Times are changing, men and women stand shoulder to shoulder in every field, so why not when it comes to taking care of the house? Great work and beautifully penned as always!

  3. I’ve always loved Ariel’s initiatives to #ShareTheLoad – in this changing society, we need to do all we can to break the stereotype and the good thing about Ariel is that it asks a question and gives a very real, valid solution for the same. Kudos!

  4. Besides my husband, my now-10yr old #Jeehan has been my biggest backbone of support around the house. Whether running chores, helping around the house, to offering a basic glass of water and the occassional tea to the visitors at home, has been instinctive to him.

    I am very proud to say #SonsShareTheLoad is something which is clearly demonstrated in my household with all members.

  5. This is such an awesome initiative by Ariel. I am a staunch believer of this concept & try to inculcate the same in my kids (read sons). I am happy to know that a big brand like Ariel is trying to raise awareness on this topic & hence it can reach more number of people.

  6. This is about time that we come together and #sharetheload. Loved the way you have expressed ur story too

  7. Generally when the boys come out of home for job that’s when they realize the importance of being independent. They suffer mostly before learning it the hard way. Very important step towards cultivating this habit from home and make the process easy. Kudos to Ariel for this much needed initiative and to you for already doing this at home!

    1. Yes, We need to understand the importance of being independent, be it, girl or boy. My son can manage on his own when we are away and I feel we all should train our kids irrespective of their sex to #ShareTheLoad.

  8. This is a very important conversation, UK and am so glad that you are sharing your experience and support to the #Sharetheload cause. Gender Equality begins at home. Parents have the moral responsibility of raising the girl and boy child equally. You’ve always been ahead of the curve and I am not surprised by the way your wife and you have raised your son to live in a gender equal world.

  9. This is a very important conversation, UK and I am so glad you are supporting the #Sharetheload cause. Gender equality begins at home. Parents have the moral responsibility of raising their girl and boy child equally. I am not surprised to read about your parenting experience. Kudos to your wife and you for raising a fine young man to live in a gender equal world. To more parents and sons like you!

  10. It’s a wonderful initiative by Ariel… Till date many people think that it’s the job of girls to learn to do household works. But in our family we believe it’s the duty id both the gender to share the work load. The article is well written by UK Need of the hour initiative

  11. In this century It’s required to break stereotypes and probably such intiatives will help people realise it’s time to #Sharetheload

  12. Ariel is one of the trusted brand, a great initiative for mom or women in general.
    We need to break boundaries

  13. Much needed initiative to Break that stereotype in Indian society. In Western countries scenario is different , husband and wife are equally responsible for house hold chores but sadly in India it’s the wife’s job . At my home things are different. I had taught my son to do his work like cleaning his room , preparing some basic snacks and tea

  14. I wish more people understand this… Fortunately I have a very caring father and husband. Both the men of my life, share the load at home and that’s the reason for a peaceful and successful life. Very well written. I hope people will take this seriously. Both men and women are equal. As soon as the world will realize this, the world will be a better place.

  15. Very well written. I feel women are no where less than the men. They are walking hand in hand and helping our country to excel. So this is a great thought. Hats off to UK for this thought provoking write up.

  16. This is very beautifully written. I liked the part of your son taking all responsibilities including that of pets, while either of you are away. We need to raise a generation of not just resounding daughters but also responsible sons to have happy and harmonious families in the future. Really appreciate this initiative by Ariel!

  17. Great initiative by the detergent brand Ariel..Surely, teaching my son household chores for better tomorrow

  18. I have seen this ad and i totally love their conceptulizatiom of share the load…gender equality starts at home abd depends on the upbringing and envieonment they are in …i hope this gives parents an insight on raising kids

  19. So rightly said UK ji. Education begins at home , that is where stereotypes develop and we need to target mindsets in our homes if we want the society to change.Good initiative by #Ariel.Go #sharetheload !

  20. This topic is more than relevant and I have often discussed it on my posts. If we are striving for equality let’s not toil of the pseudo one…let there be equality in true sense.
    Thank you for writing about this UK. Awesome post.

  21. I hope this post reaches as many people as possible. The mindset of families that places the onus of household chores on girls and women must be broken. I’m impressed by the manner in which you have bought up your son. Everyone in the house must #ShareTheLoad in all aspects. Great post!

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