Archive · 10 Aug 2026
Parents Take Turns: A Phuket Lesson on Shared Caregiving
A lady from India went on a trip to a beautiful island place called Phuket in Thailand.
While she was there, she noticed something interesting about families.
She saw moms working hard, running their shops from early in the morning.
She also saw dads taking care of babies and toddlers, rocking prams and holding sleeping children.
A young restaurant owner named Ban Thoon explained it in three simple words: 'Parents take turns.'
That means mothers and fathers share the jobs of working and caring for kids.
The lady thought about how in her own country, most people expect only mothers to do the caregiving.
She wondered why people clap when a father changes a diaper, as if he had done something amazing.
She decided that caring for children should be family work, not just 'women's work.'
The best souvenir she brought home was this simple idea about parents taking turns.
In a SubscriberWrites essay for ThePrint, author Sangeeta Kampani recounts her trip to Phuket, Thailand.
She observed women running shops from early morning while men cared for children, cradling sleeping toddlers and rocking prams outside.
Ban Thoon, a 22-year-old restaurant owner, described the arrangement simply: 'Parents take turns.'
The author contrasts this with India, where fathers waiting outside while mothers finish work is rarely seen.
She questions why caregiving is treated as 'women's work' and why people applaud men for routine care tasks.
- Who
- Sangeeta Kampani, an Indian traveler and ThePrint subscriber, and Ban Thoon, a 22-year-old restaurant owner in Phuket.
- What
- A personal essay reflecting on how parents in Phuket share caregiving and work equally, contrasting with Indian gender norms.
- When
- Not specified in the article; the visit took place around the time the author's son turned 39.
- Where
- Phuket, Thailand; the author reflects from her home context of Delhi, India.
- Why
- To share an observed 'ordinary' arrangement — parents taking turns — that challenges the assumption that caregiving is women's work.
- Author
- Sangeeta Kampani
- Publication
- ThePrint (SubscriberWrites section)
- Setting
- Phuket, Thailand, by the Andaman Sea
- Key figure
- Ban Thoon, 22, owner of a small restaurant
- Key quote
- Parents take turns
- Author's son
- Turned 39 during the trip
- Editorial note
- Published unedited and not fact-checked by ThePrint