Shared Care: A Model Whose Time Has Come?

“Shared care means both parents flex their jobs so that they are the primary caretakers of children while remaining actively engaged with work,” says DeGroot. Shared-care arrangements can take a lot of different forms, but the key principle is that the parents’ work schedules are redesigned around the needs of the family.

Through thousands of interviews with shared-care families, DeGroot has confirmed that these arrangements have important practical advantages – such as the financial savings of not paying for full-time childcare – but she finds that the real gains come in other, less tangible forms.

“First, there’s the peace of mind that families get from knowing their children are being nurtured as only a parent can,” DeGroot says. “Plus, together, parents develop a larger, more flexible set of tools for what pleases, interests and works smoothly with their child.”

Shared-care benefits the adults as well, according to DeGroot. “Many couples feel that sharing the various aspects of parenting improves their communication and brings them closer as a couple.”