Children make you more pragmatic about cleaning up.

Interview with Mark Bourichter, founder of the leading online magazine for dads in Germany “DADDYlicious”

Parents know: The birth of their first child is one of the most meaningful and incisive experiences in their lives. From one day to the next, everything is different and the world is upside down. Young parents also face completely new challenges when it comes to cleaning their homes. Vileda spoke with Mark Bourichter, a founder of the online magazine DADDYlicious, the largest online magazine for fathers in Germany, and father of a six-year-old son, about being a parent and housework.

Vileda: How come you decided to build your profession around “being a dad”?

Mark Bourichter: I founded DADDYlicious together with my friend Kai Bösel, because we actually became fathers almost at the same time. My son Henri and Kai’s daughter Mika are only two weeks apart. Already when our wives were pregnant we noticed that there are thousands of pages with helpful advice for young mothers, and nothing for fathers.
But we men also have lots of questions when we become fathers. We enter unknown territory. Because our take on life and our priorities change completely with the birth of our first child. And that also applies to household work.

Vileda: One thing that seems to change with all young parents is the importance of the home. How was that with you?

Mark Bourichter: I agree. This is also my experience. Before my son was born, our home was a more ‘practical’ place to live. This changed quickly with a baby in the house. We started to think of our home as a place for quality living – a place where I can unwind by spending time with my family. I'm taking home and being at home much more consciously now. And of course it has become more important.

Vileda: What is especially important to you to feel at home?

Mark Bourichter:
A certain basic cleanliness is very important to me. I have to admit, I am quite bourgeois in this respect. At least, before we empty the content of our toy box on the floor. But as a parent you inevitably become pragmatic when it comes to cleanliness. With children you not only have less time to clean up, children can also make a place dirty again very quickly. Young toddlers often leave behind an awful mess. You could wipe the floor directly after each meal. That's why it's especially important to me that cleaning goes quickly and efficiently. In the time that I am at home, I want to play with my son and not clean all the time - without having to compromise on cleanliness.

Vileda: What is your ultimate cleaning tip for young parents?

Mark Bourichter: We swear by microfibre cloths to remove the small handprints from the window pane. And for the parents of babies: Buy a good nappy bucket against the stench.

Vileda: And for the laundry? Will you be able to master the mountains of laundry with toddlers without a tumble dryer?

Mark Bourichter: A tumble dryer is very practical, I admit. But in summer, when the sun is shining, I still prefer to hang the laundry out in the garden. That saves space and the clothes dry very quickly.

Vileda: Do you and your wife have a certain division of housekeeping?

Mark Bourichter: Our motto is: 'Whoever sees the dirt first, cleans it up”. I would say that we have an equal distribution of cleaning workload. From what I know this is also the case with close friends. In this respect, nothing has changed with children. However, I usually take care of the garbage and empty bottles. Also, for me a clean car is very important to me. With children, however, this is difficult to maintain: Give a six-year-old half an hour in the car and thousands of microorganisms can live there for years. That's why I always have a microfibre cloth there.

Vileda: And your son? Do you involve him in house work?

Mark Bourichter: Unfortunately, he still thinks he lives in a 5-star hotel with an all-inclusive booking. We are just trying to teach him that he can fetch some things himself. Since he can no longer take a ride on our cleaning robot, he has also lost interest in it. But he's only six, so we still have time to work on it.

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