This argument is totally ridiculous. They’ll do what they want to do and I’ll be happy that they’re happy. Who’s to say they’ll even want to have kids in an age of expected, terrible global warming anyway? I’ve been a working mom and a SAHM and SAH is a nice extra to have. It makes our home life easier and nicer. My kids are having a better childhood for it. I’m sure your mileage varies but I don’t really care one way or the other. |
But you’re not doing all the thing SAHM’s are doing if you have childcare during the day when your kids are in daycare. It would be nice to have some acknowledgement, like “This is harder than I thought. It is a privilege being able to sit in quiet and have a cup of coffee in the office while the kids are being supervised at daycare.” You also don’t realize many SAHM’s have board positions on non profits and volunteer commitments that they give significant time to, comparable to a part time job and often juggle that with kids at home. So when some engineer comes in here and calls my contribution to society worthless when I raised more than her salary in fundraising last year, I can only shake my head at people who cannot see that there lies a lot of grey in between the black and white. I have no doubt it’s harder for you right now. But it’s also probably more challenging than you thought to be around your kids this much with zero breaks. |
Well said. The sahm I know teach their children life skills including, but not limited to, laundry, cooking, shopping, cleaning, budgeting etc. My mother wah early in the morning and late at night throughout my childhood. In the daytime, she was essentially a sahm. She taught us everything we need to know. My brothers, sisters and I are all hands on parents and spouses. We all have the skills necessary to run a house and raise a family. |
I don’t know a single SAHM that defines herself completely by her children. So the idea that she is a waste to society is a joke. If you think she has nothing to talk to her about ask her. Trust me, she likely has plenty of other interests, life stories, a former career, an education, places she has lived and traveled to, causes she is involved with... |
SAH = Smug at home? |
Too bad she didn't put that education to use! |
A recession and the disruption in the schools and care-giving industries will certainly keep a lot of people from working. The virus will not be gone until some time after the vaccine is widely used so it may be 1-3 years before the day cares are fully up and running, for instance. "Making it work" will be even tougher than before. |
Opposite of what I’ve experienced. I find it hard to be friends with SAHMs because everything revolves around their children. They seem way less likely to want to do anything without children involved. They go on fewer date nights, don’t travel with friends, etc. I assume some of this is because they are living off one paycheck. FWIW almost everything you listed above is in the PAST. The SAHM has a previous career, travelED places etc. That’s the problem. If you work and are friends with SAHMs, it’s easy to see how you’re moving forward in life and they aren’t. The SAHM gives up major parts of her life to stay at home with children. There are extremely wealthy women who still manage to maintain an identity, but these are not the norm. |
Most women stay at home for 5 years on average. You really think most wasted it because they took 5/50 of their working years off? |
+1000 |
The real winners here in COVID, as always, are the dual working parent families where both are involved and invested in the day to day and have employers who are more flexible and get that. The paycheck dad and miserable SAHMs couples are the saddest, today and always. |
Most of my working friends are breadwinners with a fairly equal split. Husband makes about 150, they make 165. Most SAHM’s I know HHI is closer to $300+ from one income so not all that accurate in my personal circle. Couple trips or traveling without kids is more common which makes sense because many couples with 2 working have a lot more family support from parents who step in when they have to travel frequently. In my own situation, both DH and I have to travel significantly and he earns more so it was the logical choice for us with no family help. Also I’m not that removed from my former life in the past as you’re “moving forward.” You’re wilding overestimating more people’s contribution to society with their jobs anyways. There are not that many career paths that most people have much interest in at a dinner conversation anyways. |
Which one is it, PP? Is it that SAHMs are around their kids with zero breaks or that they're board members who volunteer all the time? You can't have it both ways. And I'm not the PP you're responding to, but I'll repeat this for you since you seem to have a hard time understanding. What is not hard is being around our kids with zero breaks. What is hard is working full-time while doing that. You just sound ridiculous. |
Well, the WOHMs I know teach their kids all that stuff as well. So what's your point? |
You make no sense. Who said SAHMs define themselves completely by their children? |