Reply to I hate when people assume I have a ton of free time because I SAH

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Everyone's boundaries and capacities are different regardless of SAH or WOH. We all know (or are!) SAH parents who stay home precisely so they CAN be involved with the PTA, have more time for working out or working around the house, be the one who volunteers to pick up random things for the kids' classroom, etc. So it's a little rich to sneer that yes, you stay at home, but you are still omg too busy to do these things. The better tack is to graciously hold your boundary if there is ever an incorrect assumption of how you specifically choose to use your time: "I'm sorry, I'm not available to do x at y time." Don't make it a thing.[/quote]

Well said. And it's certainly reasonable to assume that a SAHM has more free time than a WOH mom![/quote]

Not if the children are under the age of 3 (or 4, depending on when they start PK). Being the full time caregiver for a 2 year old will absolutely melt your brain. The idea that it's easier for someone in that situation to do things for other people is crazy. To go back to OP's original point, imagine if you hired a nanny to care for your 2 year old and then the nanny was like "ok, but I've got a bunch of volunteer stuff to do for the PTA at my kid's school, and also I need to run some errands for some of my friends and neighbors, and pick up my sister's friends from school because she has a real job."

[b]A 2 year old is a full time, exhausting job. Full stop.[/b] Anyone with kids, whether you SAHed or not, should know that. If you have ever spent 2-3 hours caring for a child this age, you should understand that it does not lend itself to a leisurely life of volunteer work and getting in workouts. When I was a SAHM of a child this age, I probably showered twice a week and regularly just ate cheese slices and an orange for 90% of my meals because I barely had time to take care of myself, much less do favors for friends.[/quote]

Being a full time parent is exhausting and time consuming, no one is disputing that.  The point that a lot of you are missing is that it’s not actually a job - no one is paying you for it, it’s not labor in the Marxian sense.  And because of that, you are not accountable to anyone else for your time or performance.  You have total flexibility and determination over your day.  [/quote]

Tell that to the 2 year old! Can I watch you explain Karl Marx while he screams at you that he wants yellow cheese, not white cheese, and he wants it RIGHT NOW! You could sell tickets to this little pay and become a true capitalist![/quote]

I have young kids, I understand how they act. That does not change the fact that watching your own kids is not a job.[/quote]

PP is using job and labor as terms of art. It's definitely WORK, and hard work! But if you're not answerable to someone else it's not "labor" or "a job." Fun fact: by these definitions hunter gatherers and freeholding subsistence farmers are also not engaged in labor! [/quote]

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