Reply to Ladies, would you settle down with a man who wants to be a SAHD?

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Reply to "Ladies, would you settle down with a man who wants to be a SAHD?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I know some parents that chose this route versus having a nanny raise their kid.  It isn't that the man isn't ambitious, it is that they chose to prioritize their family and the wife happened to be the primary breadwinner.  It works for them, similar to how men with stressful jobs find it helpful to have someone who takes care of the household, kids, and everything else to allow them to focus on their career.  It wasn't necessarily the husbands goal in life- it just worked out that way.  Both kids are well educated, well loved and amazing people.[/quote]

This could be me/us.  At age 25, I was a go-getter, and in a million years would not see myself as a SAHD. In the end, I married a very successful woman who made $$$. We agreed early on that it would be in our kids' best interest for a parent to be home, and it made the most sense that it was me. I will admit giving up my career was a massive adjustment, and I endured plenty of snickers, jokes, and clueless remarks (At the grocery store with the toddler, clerk looks at son: "Oh, are you having some Daddy time today?" Well, it's actually Daddy time every day, as a matter of fact...). Anyway, I was not always happy, and I have tried hard to at least keep some part-time/freelance work on the side, but I have to say it's the best thing I ever did. I strongly believe my kids, who are highly successful and at the top of the charts academically, would not be where they are without that strong parental presence at home in the early years. Sure, plenty of high-achievers have nannies, I get that. But the bottom line is we felt it was in the best interest of our kids, so we did it.

I wonder sometimes whether my wife privately resents that I don't work out of the house, or haven't shown greater ambition, or climbed some career ladder, but she has never said that and has reiterated that we are a team. She also knows she will come every night to well-behaved, loving kids and (almost always) a home-cooked meal, and that she never has to scramble if there's a snow day, or an early dismissal from school, or a kids' doctor's appointment, etc.

So to frame the original question, I never, when dating my wife, told her, "I really want to be a SAHD." After we had kids, it made the most sense, and it's worked for us, and I have loved it. I feel so sorry for those workaholics who miss out on the kids childhood. Blink and they will be grown, and you will have missed the chance. I have not missed the chance.

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Different. That is making life choices as a couple.

And no, I would never have married a man whose GOAL was to be the SAHP. But the biological urge for a man to want to care for his family, be the provider and protector I think is really there. Just like the urge to care for her family, nurture and protect her kids is there for a woman. They play out differently. That is all.[/quote]

Wait, so you think women are biologically nurturing and men are biologically providing? Jesus fistfucking christ, I hope you don't consider yourself a feminist.[/quote]

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