The rota
Choose who covers each job most weeks. Saved only in this browser.
Every week
Every month
When something happens
Care.com's 2026 report found that sandwich-generation caregivers spend nearly 24 hours a week arranging, managing and providing care, and mothers about 27. Half of mothers said they're always the default person others turn to when care is needed, compared with a third of fathers.
A rota is the simplest way to stop being the default. It also makes gaps visible early, so the family can decide together whether to share a job differently or pay for some help.
Turning the rota into a plan
- Print or screenshot your rota and share it with the family.
- Ask each person to look at the "Not covered" jobs and pick one.
- For anything still left, price paid help and split that cost instead.
- Look at it again in three months. Needs change, often gradually.
Questions people ask
Does paying for help count as covering a job?
Yes. If a sibling pays for a cleaner, that job is covered. It's worth agreeing how time and money contributions are weighed against each other.
My parent doesn't want outside help. What then?
That's common and worth respecting where possible. Sometimes starting with something small, like a weekly delivery, makes later help feel less of a change.
Sources
Keep going
Talking to your manager about caring for a parent
Prepare to ask your manager for flexibility around caring, without stepping back from your career.
Too late at 50?
A 30-day checklist for testing a new direction at 40 or 50 in small, real steps.
Planning the big move
From 'one day we'll move' to a date in the diary: a step-by-step relocation checklist.
