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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]Most people work bc they have to not because it gives their life meaning so it shouldn't be a surprise that your friends feel spending time with their kids is "living the dream".[/quote]

I make more money than my spouse, but neither one of us makes enough to support a family in this region - nothing but two full-time jobs would work for us and there hasn't been any money left over for nannies and au pairs.

I don't think it would have been better for my kids if I had been SAH - just different. I probably would have been terrible at it and I actually admire parents who can throw themselves into school volunteering, chauffeuring to 4:00 sports practices, cooking meals, spotless houses, maintaining strict bedtime routines, etc.  I'm kind of glad to have an excuse for not being good at any of that stuff!  (Yes, yes, I know most WOH moms somehow manage to do all that stuff and work full time but I am not one of those people). [/quote]

Having done it, it was extremely boring to me, once my kids started school.  It is really amazing to me that people yearn to stay at home with older kids, but if you work when your kids are small and come home for the second shift, I can see how some burn out.   [/quote]

Did you at first stay home with babies and then school aged kids a bit before going back to work?  I can see how your perspective would lead you to feel that way, since it is such a shift from having them home all the time, to in school at least 7 hours a day.  But if you are working full-time until your kids are in school, you may not see it the same way.  Their personalities are so much more developed at this point, and you want to soak it up without always feeling rushed, you just want more of those interactions, and you become aware of how fast they are growing up.  Some WOHM don't see the point of staying home at this juncture based on what the costs are financially and professionally, and some think those extra hours a day on average are worth more, even some with very high salaries.   [/quote]

Those extra hours are pretty much a fiction.[/quote]

I quit my job when older child was in kindergarten. Those extra hours are not fiction. I meet kids at bus stop and take them to various activities and sports. Kids ride bikes and play outside before dinner. We go to the pool.

The year I quit my job, FCPS had like 15 snow days, 10 2 hour delays, , 5 early dismissals, at least 10 events during the middle of the school day (class parties, teacher conferences, award ceremony,  musical, picnic, field day, etc). That does not include teacher work days and breaks.

Unless both parents have flex schedules, this is hard. Dh has a very demanding job with high income. I had a low six figure flexible job. I had a sitter, cook, housekeeper and lanscapers. Date night sitters are easy. Last minute sitters in the middle of the day not so much.[/quote]

I'm not going to belabor this point but yes, it is.  I lived this life.  Got kids from bus stop at 3:30 (10 minutes).  Watched kids do homework for half an hour.  Kids off to play with friend or to sports practice or to girl scouts (all of which require zero parental involvement beyond a drop off and pick up, if they can't walk there themselves).  Dad comes home.  Total extra amount of time I had with kids, maybe half an hour a day.  If it makes you happy to have a less stressful life, that's great.  But the more quality time with kids line really isn't true unless you were coming home at 8 every night.

If you are willing to pay the money, not hard to get a nanny that can cover days off from school in addition to after school.  Or work from home a day.  [/quote]

You are belaboring this by implying that everyone's schedule is the same for yours.  I am out of the house from 7-6:15 working and my 5 year old is at school 11 hours a day.  She has little homework as a Kindergartner, and goes to girl scouts once a month.  We do gymnastics at the rec center on weekends, so there is a significant amount of hours she would have with me, her dad (who could go in earlier and come home early) and her little sister if one of us wasn't working full time.  Stop trying to make your experience universal, do you really think YOUR life is the only reality?  [/quote]

Of course not, but do you think her life in kindergarten is what it will always be?  Sounds like you also have a preschooler.  I agree that is the best time to stay at home and in fact what .

The original post,however was about kids in older elementary and yes, your kid will most likely have the life I described in a year or tw.[/quote]

That is if you over schedule your kids.  My kids don't do 30min of HW and then off to activities daily.  They are home, having playdates, going to the pool right at 4pm, we have family dinners. etc.. I am not rushed and driving people all over the place.  They each have one activity once a week. [/quote]

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