'You're creating genuine connection.' How the invisible labor of kinkeeping binds families together

It requires effort (and lots of it!) to keep a family connected, happy, and healthy. All that effort has a name. It's called kinkeeping. The New York Times defines kinkeeping as “creating or carrying on family traditions, buying gifts for birthdays and holidays, coordinating medical care and performing all sorts of emotional caregiving. It's a form of invisible labor, predominately done by women, dedicated to family bonding and magic-making.” Don't you feel seen and validated reading that definition? It is invisible labor after all. Labor that oftentimes goes unnoticed, but women do it anyway, and so well. Studio 5 Parenting Contributor Heather Johnson shared why kinkeeping is so important.