July 5, 2008
Dear Economist: How can we share the chore of putting the kids to bed?
My husband and I both have fairly demanding jobs, and we also have two children under the age of five. Bedtime is sometimes fulfilling, but more often exhausting and aggravating. Most of the work – especially the stories and the staring at the ceiling waiting for the children to fall asleep – is best done alone. So how should we share the chore?
Taking it in turns seems obvious, but what about when one partner is particularly tired already? Should we be holding an auction or something?
Sophie Jamieson
Dear Sophie,
Your problem is surprisingly subtle. Simply taking turns is inefficient, since that may mean the wearier party being faced with the chore. But a more discretionary system of side-payments is complex, and may be corrupted if one of you feigns exhaustion when in fact you simply fancy a glass of wine and a bit of TV.
Such situations are common. For example, a price-fixing cartel faces a trade-off between rigid profit-sharing rules and complex schemes to trade market share. The general problem has been analysed in the formidably mathematical research of Professor Susan Athey. She finds that less efficient but simpler schemes often – but not always – pay off. So you should indeed take turns, and if that is occasionally sub-optimal, tough luck.
Please note that Athey also has two children under the age of five.
Questions to economist@ft.com
Taking turns is inefficient. The customer (children) can more easily play the two suppliers off against each other, resulting in margin erosion (loss of marginal time for the parents).
But this is not in the customer’s best long term interest, either, because the customer is best served by a consistent quality of service (a routine that is supportive but gets them into bed at a reasonable hour so they aren’t tired the next day).
On a personal note, I put my kids to bed every night except when out of town on business travel. As a father, this was one of the best, if not the best, investments in time I ever made. In general, there a more opportunities for natural bonding between mothers and children. Fathers have to work at it a bit, and this is a good way to make sure you keep close relations with your children.
Posted by: ZBicyclist | July 8th, 2008 at 2:44 pm | Report this comment