That's a lot of boxes.
It is.
Yeah.
OK, write on the side of each box what's on your plate
right now.
So one box for each responsibility?
Yep.
Have at it.
The boxes are a visual aid of being able to write down
exactly the responsibility that each parent has
and to be able to take a look at that
and weigh up who's doing more in this situation,
and how can we lighten the load on one person's shoulders,
so that we are carrying that weight together.
All right, step two.
Stack your boxes please.
I feel like I'm playing Jenga.
JO: Right.
Mum, you've been definitely feeling,
I've got too much on my plate.
The idea of the box technique is to stack up
what's been on your shoulders and together look
at how you resolve it so we both feel like we're carrying
our load, we're doing our bit.
That's teamwork, right?
[INAUDIBLE] Let's take a look.
OK.
It's really not even.
So, Jamie, you've been talking a lot about responsibility
and about having a lot on your plate.
What sticks out like a sore thumb
that you don't want on your plate?
Making the dinner.
OK, let's look at that.
So, Mum, you're not getting in until quite late.
I'm going to tell you that your children need to be eating
no later than 5:00, 5:30.
So, Ian, since you work from home,
you can make dinner on the weeknights.
Here's where I--
I guess I have a problem.
Leaving work for Jamie is somewhat flexible,
so I'd certainly be willing to talk about maybe doing
some kind of flex arrangement.
Your four children need to eat.
Are you going to feed the kids or not?
I can certainly do it.
I am physically able, and I can do it.
Oh my god, I can hear a "but" coming.
No, I-- we'll see how it works out.
I mean--
What do you mean, how it works out?
Ian, it's your responsibility.
You're the one who's home now.
What is there to get?
You need to feed your children, Ian.
I understand. No, I want to--
So, Ian, what are you going to do?
Are you going to feed the kids or not?
I can feed the kids, but I don't
want it to become an incentive, like,
let me stay at work because if I stay at work,
then he'll make dinner.
So--
Are you kidding me?
No, I'm--
Are you kidding me, Ian.
I'm serious.
Your kids need to eat at 5 o'clock.
You're thinking of yourself, and you
want it to be when Mum comes home so that she can do it.
She can't.
She's at work.
So who is going to feed these kids?
I will feed them.
It was tough for him, and I knew it was.
But she didn't back down, and it was
like, you're going to do it.
So I think he definitely will step up.
So the dinners are out the way.
Who's walking the dog?
I can do it in the morning if he does the afternoon.
JO: With the boxes, you can juggle things around.
It took a lot of time to go through it because these things
do take time.
But afterwards, if compromised, you've communicated,
and you're feeling happy together.
Are we both feeling good about that?
Yeah.
- I am. - Yeah?
Good.
All right, that's a high five for the two of you.
All right.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
It's time to eat.
AVA: My mom, she's, like, doing less things.
Instead of doing all the work, Jo's actually forcing
our dad to do some work too.
He usually would just, like, sit around and, like, wait
for our mom to do everything.
That's a good thing.
How's it going?
JULIAN: What kind of sauce is this?
IAN: Do you like it?
JULIAN: Yeah.
IAN: Well, we'll try and repeat it for you then, pal.
GIANNA: Jo's leaving for a few days,
but I'm nervous to see if we can keep everything
that she's taught us together.
But I think we can do it.
IAN: It's been days of training, and now I feel like this is it.
It's time to put it all into practice and-- and
see what we've got.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
JAMIE: That wasn't so bad, right?
No.
Good, 'cause you're going to do it some more.
Ugh.