How it Works · Equally Shared Parenting

Who lives the equal sharing lifestyle? Plenty of us! Most equally sharing couples look a lot like ‘normal’ people on the outside, but if you step into our daily lives you will realize that we are a bit unique. Equally shared parenting happens in many different ways and in many different types of families. Some people struggle hard to attain it and others simply fall into it. Most of us consciously work to keep it alive over time.

We'd like to introduce you to real couples who practice what we describe. You can read a bit about your website hosts in About Marc and Amy, but below are others’ stories. Each couple has written their own story, in their own format and words. Each story symbolizes one or more variations on the theme of equally shared parenting. You may find yourself in one story and not another. We urge you to explore them all.

Do you have a story to share? If you and your partner have children and feel that you exemplify equally shared parenting, we would love to hear from you. Please send us an email to info@equallysharedparenting.com with ‘real life story’ in the subject, and tell us a bit about yourself, your partner and your family situation. We will provide brief guidelines for story submission as applicable.

Enjoy!

Pete and Simi - Two 34-year old software engineers carefully plan their escape from the work/spend cycle to create their perfect balance - two new, extremely part-time careers and equally shared parenting of their 2 1/2 year old son in Colorado's scenic beauty.

Judy and Gerry - An PhD candidate and a home-based IT professional share raising their 5-year old daughter in Australia. To them, equally shared parenting means a balanced life and family connectedness. Learn more about Judy's PhD project and musings on work/life/family balance at her blog, WoLFi TaLEs.

Michelle and Jim - A freelance writer/communication coach and a small business owner share raising their three young daughters and caring for their home - and find peace in their transition from a traditional marriage to ESP. Learn more about them both at Eloquence Communication.

Carl and Debby - Two Canadian psychologists who believed in ESP so much that they were willing to sacrifice Carl's tenure as a university professor to each work part time. Read more in Carl's article on his ESP experience in Canadian Family Physician.

Annie and John - Two doctoral students and believers in attachment parenting are dedicated to living a balanced life. Both Annie and John offer their insights in pursuit of ESP both here and occasionally in their SprogBlog.

Ben and Alicia - Two lawyers work slightly reduced hours in corporate America, equally sharing the raising of their three boys. As told from Ben's point-of-view, their lifestyle has changed his perspective of what 'having it all' can mean.

Gail and Lyn - A lesbian couple equally parents their 15 month old daughter, and illustrate that even same-sex parents need to nurture and protect an equally sharing arrangement. Both in academic positions, they describe how swapping roles by semester led them to a more daily sharing of all roles within the family.

Melissa and Richard - A software QA director and pianist both work part-time in careers they love, while sharing in the raising of their two daughters - ages 7 and 4. Melissa describes how part-time work can be the key to zero outside childcare and a balanced and fulfilling life for both parents in this essay, adapted from one she wrote recently for Parents to Parents magazine. Check out Melissa's other passion at her website, www.effective-parenting.org.

Jane and Jimmy - Two writers raise three children, and introduce us to 'emotional equality' as the heart of equally shared parenting. Read more from Jane at her blog, leafstitchword.

Sharon and Rob - A project manager and a physical therapist/soccer coach with a two-year old son unconsciously create an equal sharing family because it fits their needs, and realize they wouldn’t want to turn back.

Marci and David - An architect and web designer show us that part-time tag-team work out of the same office can mesh with lots of time with their two-year old daughter, couple togetherness, and an equality that comes naturally. See their cool baby product recommendations that are actually asthetic at architectbabies.com.

WorkingWritingWailingMama and Pa - A PhD candidate/part-time English instructor and her full-time
landscaper husband share care of their 2-year old daughter
and navigate ESP in a purposeful way as their schedules
change seasonally. For more from wwwmama, read her
blog at wwwmama.typepad.com.