August 4, 2026 at 9:52am EDT

Becoming a parent adds a whole new level of never-ending tasks to your to-do list. Not only are there kid-specific responsibilities like bedtime routines and middle of the night diaper changes to tackle, but daily household tasks like maintaining the calendar and getting dishes and laundry finished become even more taxing once kids enter the picture.

Actress Emmy Rossum recently chatted with People about how she and husband Sam Esmail split the parenting and household duties in their relationship, and it turns out the Furious actor relies on a very special deck of cards to make the distribution of work even.

“We’re trying it out, and right now, [Sam’s] got middle of the night care,” Rossum said in the interview. “My son was up four times last night, and he got up every time to make sure he had what he needed.”

So what are Rossum and Esmail using to help them parent their 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son? The Fair Play Deck, a deck of cards inspired by Eve Rodsky’s book Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live). The best-seller, a Reese’s Book Club pick, guides couples through determining every task that needs to be done to run their household, and helps them divide the work more evenly so that one partner isn’t carrying the physical and mental load. 

The Fair Play deck is a simplified way to adopt Rodsky’s method. To use them, a couple sits down with all of the cards and sorts through which tasks apply to their own home and parenting responsibilities. Next, the couple splits the tasks more fairly and, hopefully, takes some stress off the shoulders of the partner that’s been doing more than one person should have to.

Rodsky thanked Rossum for shouting out her card deck on Instagram, saying, “Thank you … Emmy Rossum and Sam Esmail for sharing how the Fair Play cards have helped them build a stronger work/life/family/parenting strategy in the home. We love seeing @fairplaylife in action and changing so many ways that families view household responsibilities.”

Followers of the method jumped in on the post as well, sharing how Rodsky’s book and card deck have helped their own households run more smoothly (and more fairly). 

“Half the battle is just getting the invisible stuff onto a list where someone else can finally see it too,” said one. Another commented, “YES!!!! I love hearing more publications and people talking about how tricky it is to find what works for not only talking about the visible and invisible labor, but how to be actionable about it.”