Parenthood demands sacrifices, but how those sacrifices are divided between couples can spark tension.

When one couple’s agreed-upon schedule began to feel lopsided to a stay at home mom, cracks started to form in their once-solid arrangement.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for Coming Home Late 3 Times a Week?

I’m married with two kids, ages 3.5 and 1.5. I have a demanding full-time job, and my wife is a full-time mom, which was her choice.

The husband thinks they’ve worked out a fair arrangement.

We’ve mostly aligned ourselves with traditional roles — me as the breadwinner and her managing the kids and the home.

Recently, I had an opportunity to start a business that could improve our future, especially since we live in a high-cost-of-living area.

Although, this would mean he would spend more time away from home.

We agreed that I would spend a few extra hours at the office three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) to work on getting the business up and running.

But he still tries to find time to be with his family.

To balance this, I’ve committed Tuesdays and Thursdays evenings to taking care of the kids while my wife gets time for herself — doing yoga, meeting her friends, or just resting and doing nothing.

And his wife gets dedicated time to herself too.

On Saturdays, she also gets the full day to herself while I take the kids out, and Sundays are for me to focus on the business.

This was the arrangement we both agreed to, and it worked well for a while.

But before long, the wife becomes unhappy with the balance.

However, my wife has recently expressed dissatisfaction with this setup.

She feels it’s unfair that I get “more time to myself” and wants me to come home every day by 5 or 6 p.m. to help with the kids.

I understand that her current role is more than a full-time job, and I deeply appreciate everything she does.

But he doesn’t quite see things the same way she does.

But I also feel that I’m working overtime on that business — not just for myself, but for our family’s future, which she doesn’t seem to take seriously or count as “time for myself.”

Business aside, I generally feel like this is an unreasonable expectation, given that I also come home exhausted and need some time to rest.

Still, he understands where she’s coming from.

While this may not seem fair for her in the short term, I think this tough period for her is primarily during the early years of our kids’ childhood.

Once the kids start school 2 years from now, she’ll have six hours a day to herself for the next 10-20 years.

He still kinda thinks he has it worse though…

Meanwhile, I’ll still be grinding at work until retirement, but I can’t complain because she will have earned that rest.

I think that’s fair enough in the long run.

So, AITA?

He’s focusing on the long-term, but she’s focusing on the here and now.

Let’s see if Reddit has any words of wisdom.

This husband isn’t being an AH to his family, but there is another thing he might want to worry about.

The husband’s choice of words are telling for this redditor.

Maybe he would have more luck just talking to his wife.

A business can wait, but can your kids’ childhood?

He may have been working overtime for tomorrow, but she wanted a more equitable partnership today.

This couple needs to find a compromise — and fast.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.