Home v. Work: Child Rearing not Worthy of Time and Talents of Intelligent Humans

[PoliticalChic]

My sister has 4 kids and stayed home the entire time and sometimes people would say "oh so you just stay at home you don't work?" and she would get her feelings hurt over it, it made her feel like what she did was worthless to most people.

I was lucky enough to stay home with my kids until my youngest was 4, then my marriage dissolved and I had to work. I am still glad I got to stay home with them for the time that I did. I do think however, instead of devoting my life to my husband and kids I should have been in college working toward my career. Now it is twice as hard working & going to school and raising kids alone.

Your sister shouldn't have hurt feelings. She should have been proud especially if her kids are turning out the way she intended.

Kudos to you for going to school, working and raising your kids. Hope you can get your mom and dad involved too to help you out.

I don't know what field you would like to get into but, I'm just finishing a fantastic book entitled: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Grindhopping-Building-Rewarding-Career-Without/dp/0071479333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224675613&sr=8-1"]Grindhopping: Building a Rewarding Career Without Paying Your Dues by Laura Vanderkam[/ame]

I personally don't want to go back to the "grind" -- having a boss, commuting, dealing with office politics, but I do have ambitions after the kids have been educated and have moved out (yikes!). I'd like to set up my own business and this book is a how-to guide for those people interested in freelancing, self-employment, etc. She even have a website dedicated to grindhopping: www.grindhopping.com.

 

[chloe]

Your sister shouldn't have hurt feelings. She should have been proud especially if her kids are turning out the way she intended.

Kudos to you for going to school, working and raising your kids. Hope you can get your mom and dad involved too to help you out.

I don't know what field you would like to get into but, I'm just finishing a fantastic book entitled: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Grindhopping-Building-Rewarding-Career-Without/dp/0071479333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224675613&sr=8-1"]Grindhopping: Building a Rewarding Career Without Paying Your Dues by Laura Vanderkam[/ame]

Thank you for sharing that information. I will check it out.

 

[AllieBaba]

Exactly!! The one thing that seems to go by the wayside, at least for me, is housekeeping. That has to be a joint effort. But I figure my son won't complain that things get out of hand from time to time and would rather have more of my company when we're all at home.

Good grief. We agree about something.
I'm constantly asking my friends how they manage housework with kids and work, because I sure as heck haven't figured it out for myself.

I finally got it. They don't do anything else. They never sit down. If they read, it's for a designated period of time late at night, or for an allotment they allow themselves. But honestly, most of the ones who keep really neat houses don't read much outside of work.

My dryer (brand new, dammit) has been out of commission for more than a month (hard to get repairmen to my neck of the woods) and I've been working on a wildly extravagant costume for my daughter for Trick or Treat. If the health department paid me a surprise visit, I don't know what they think about piles of clothing all through the house, but if that's a violation I'd get zapped.

Repairman's coming tomorrow. It feels like Christmas Eve.

 

[PoliticalChic]

Good grief. We agree about something.
I'm constantly asking my friends how they manage housework with kids and work, because I sure as heck haven't figured it out for myself.

I finally got it. They don't do anything else. They never sit down. If they read, it's for a designated period of time late at night, or for an allotment they allow themselves. But honestly, most of the ones who keep really neat houses don't read much outside of work.

My dryer (brand new, dammit) has been out of commission for more than a month (hard to get repairmen to my neck of the woods) and I've been working on a wildly extravagant costume for my daughter for Trick or Treat. If the health department paid me a surprise visit, I don't know what they think about piles of clothing all through the house, but if that's a violation I'd get zapped.

Repairman's coming tomorrow. It feels like Christmas Eve.

My house wouldn't be in architectural digest, but we all try to keep it neat and functional (so we wouldn't be embarrassed with unexpected visitors), particularly my husband who has a knack for organizing.

We are all quite busy -- me with homeschooling and other projects. This summer, I decided I wasn't going to be a slave to household chores. The kids have to keep their rooms and bathrooms clean. They also pitch in with the laundry as much as they can. Sorting and loading for the older one and just sorting for the younger one. Also, the kids are expected to help with the dishes. The kids grumble at times, but it has gotten to the point that they know what is expected of them. As my kids get older, they will be participating in some meals too.

I still wish there were more hours in the day, but I do get in a fair amount of reading and writing.

Part of the problem that we have in our house is that we accumulate so much stuff -- clothes, toys, books, etc. We try to donate as much as we can -- freecycle is awesome if you have one in your area.