Division of labor is simply a technique in the service of an end or a goal. The extent to which or the ways in which “division of labor” serves your family depend on your goals or vision for your family.
My goal for my family has been one of the family members doing important and valuable things together. That goal is not especially served by the economic concept of division of labor. There are certainly times when that concept is in play; for example, my daughter wasn’t going to learn auto mechanics from me or her father. She took Auto Shop at the local community college.
However, our deeper view is that “childhood” is about 25% of a person’s life, and that spending it largely in the company of one’s parents and siblings is to be valued above other options. This doesn’t preclude a science lab or a language class or dance lessons or horseback riding, but the guiding principle is that the life of the family *together* is the key value.
Thanks for you thoughts.
You are probably right to note that the division of labor depends on the end or goal. After all, it applies differently, depending on the social context—family, city, nation, etc. There is a point where the family unit is dependent a larger social context, and although at this time in our society a massive defection from public education is exactly what is needed, this movement can also show the deficiency of our social life and social trust. I think it a worthwhile discussion, but it requires a lot of effort—I used to give that effort a lot here on FR, probably too much.
It is curious that the word economy is originally from the Greek, meaning “rule of the household.”