What a response. Very compelling. I definitely don't know the difference. Not at all. You got me. Somebody get this poster a Pulitzer. |
Hey...have you all seen the bit where Jimmy Kimmel does the "mean tweets" where famous people read mean tweets out loud on camera? I'd love to take your posts and a few others and read them out loud on camera. Seriously, it would comedic gold! For your Refrence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrjp6e04dZ8 <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nrjp6e04dZ8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> |
This is incorrect. A child does not have to do after school activities every day to get into a 4 year college. Both my children come/came home when school is/was out, except on rare occasions. One currently just finished his first year at a top ten engineering college. No sports, was in a musical group, did scouts and was active in our denomination's youth organization. The second one is currently a junior in HS and has his choice of almost any college he wants. He is home everyday and 95% of the time has his homework done before dinner. Grades and rigor of classes are the number ONE thing. ECs do not have to be time hogs and do not have to be immediately after school. They can happen in the evening after homework is done and on the weekends. |
Wow, Sherlock. ECs need to happen, it does not matter WHEN. I too have kids in college, 2 of them as a matter of fact, BOTH on scholarship at D1 schools. I have another who has already committed her Junior year. My kids HAPPEN to have been busy after school. My current Junior has a rigorous sports schedule, plus National Honor Society and the Debate Team. Many afternoons she has debate and then direct to practice. She packs both lunch and dinner. She is also a 4.1 student, having already completed an AP her Junior year. She had the schools banging down our door this year. |
Not according to college admission offices. Sorry, anyone who says their kid can get in any college they want has zero credibility. Plenty of kids with perfect scores and grades get turned away from the top schools every years. |
I agree with this poster. I'm having a heck of time going back. (Kids will be in 4th and 3rd). I worked part-time after they were born, and then stopped working when my oldest needed OT. That being said, having a spouse who commutes 2 hours total and works long hours and travels, all the before school, school and after school activities fall to me (i.e., parent-teacher conferences, homework, forms, etc). I know I'm lucky that we have the financial resources, but I find it dreary and boring. I do volunteer work in the community, but it's not the same as having a profession. If I did find a job, I would have to hire someone to shuttle my kids around after school and help out around the house. |
Yup. Mom here with HS Junior. Despite her having straight As and high SATs, she's still a white girl from NoVA and that makes her a dime a dozen. Nothing special. The only reason she has had the incredible choice land out in front of her is her sport and academic excellence. Had she not had her sport, she would not have this opportunity, but when sports are combined with top grades that is where you get the golden ticket. She's smart because she chose an excellent Virginia State school, rather than an out of state or private that had even bigger names...georgetown duke and Princeton to name a few. She didn't want to he left holding the bag if she got injured. This way if her sport doesn't work out , we, her parents can still pay full tuition. |
It doesn't have to mean going straight to the bench! Explore WAH or part-time options. WAH has been a savior for me. |
Ooooh you caught a typo!! Good one!!!!! PP, I agree with you. IME, the only people who are so critical of other families are the ones who feel some guilt/shame about their own situation. Maybe they feel guilty for not using their degrees, or they couldn't get a job that would make working worthwhile. On the flip side, there are WOHPs who feel guilty about the amount of time they spend at work. Parents who are just trying to do what's best for their family don't go around evaluating what is best for other families. I have friends who work PT, FT, SAH, etc., and I don't waste my time thinking about whether they are screwing over their children or their careers. They all seem happy and their kids are happy. |
| I wonder if a lot of people make this decision because they are a bit more settled financially when they have ES kids than when the kids are babies and they are saving for a down payment on a house, paying off student loan debt, establishing a home (buying furniture and all), saving for retirement (you need to do it early!), etc. |
I WAH and feel extremely fortunate to have this set-up; makes life so much easier for after school activities. I have an ES school child, who swims a couple times a week during the winter and all summer, and I'm able to get to where he needs to be. Also makes school pick-up easier, and he can eat a snack before swim. I wish more companies would offer a WAH option, as you do have more time during the day to work because you're not commuting, and more time to spend with your family. My situation is an anomaly where I work, since I work for a large defense contractor so I'm very careful to not take advantage. To the poster who thinks having school aged children and working FT is easy must have help and other resources. Having one child who is active is hard enough, I can't imagine working FT and having to manage multiple children's activities; something will fall through the cracks. |
I can only speak from MY experience. From what I've seen over there years, parents don't drop out of the workforce as they get older, they go BACK to work. Volunteer as a room mom in Kindergarten and then again 6th grade. Most parents are all back at work. I'm room mom for my 5th grader (and I work0gasp!) and it is very difficult to get parental participation because people are now AT WORK. With that said, I've found working has gotten easier the older I have become, and I'm getting paid MORE for doing less. I can WFH a decent amount and have a lot of seniority to be flexible. Plus at 38, I've really ramped up the retirement savings and it would be such a blow to have that wind down. Our plans now revolve around paying off our house and making investments. Not able to invest in more if I don't have an income, so for me at 38, this is go time for earnings. |
My kids' activities are not at their school. So they need someone to take them places. |
Absolutely agree with this, there is no "trend" of moms of older kids becoming SAHs, although I don't doubt it happens ocassionally. |
Easy to say if you already have it but it's very hard to get in a lot of fields. What are you supposed to do if your boss won't let you or it's not really a viable option in your field? Just quit? |