Valuing Stay-at-Homes
I saw a report this morning on the Today Show that made me smile for so many reasons. Stay-at-home dads.
I don't like prime time dads or dads in ads. Their clever wives or precocious, preening children inevitably reveal them as inept buffoons. The dads in the Today report weren't lovable dopes and they weren't wimps. It takes strength of character and one heck of a lot of versatility and flexibility to run a home!
About 25% of wives now outearn their husbands. It's just common sense that while Dad stays at home nurturing the children, Mom takes the role of breadwinner. One father's company wisely provides leave to allow him to be with his children. Another dad said that he's paying a price in his career; yet, he feels privileged to live in a time when this is possible. He wistfully commented he would have loved to have a similar opportunity with his own dad. Girls learn self-esteem from their dads. His daughter is lucky.
I loved that these dads relished chores like taking their kids to the park. They talk football while changing diapers and keeping eagle eyes on the kids. However, I particularly loved that these dads admit experiencing the same career set-backs as stay-at-home moms.
Progress has been achingly slow in accommodating women who stay home when they re-enter the workforce. Staying at home was never sitting on the couch eating chips all day. Stay-at-homes organize, mediate, volunteer, and hone valuable management skills. Some employers, though not the majority, are starting to get this...slowly. For most, staying at home stymies career advancement. Rubbish!
So...I'm smiling because I know the tide has to turn. Women are earning more degrees than men (sorry guys: 57% of bachelor's, 59% of master's), and more education means greater earnings, paving the way for them to be the breadwinners. As they do, maybe, just maybe, what stay-at-home moms have always known will now be acknowledged: it's hard work! Then we'll see those perceptions change. Companies will accommodate caretaking of all kinds, and value employees who have made this difficult decision.
What do you think?
I don't like prime time dads or dads in ads. Their clever wives or precocious, preening children inevitably reveal them as inept buffoons. The dads in the Today report weren't lovable dopes and they weren't wimps. It takes strength of character and one heck of a lot of versatility and flexibility to run a home!
About 25% of wives now outearn their husbands. It's just common sense that while Dad stays at home nurturing the children, Mom takes the role of breadwinner. One father's company wisely provides leave to allow him to be with his children. Another dad said that he's paying a price in his career; yet, he feels privileged to live in a time when this is possible. He wistfully commented he would have loved to have a similar opportunity with his own dad. Girls learn self-esteem from their dads. His daughter is lucky.
I loved that these dads relished chores like taking their kids to the park. They talk football while changing diapers and keeping eagle eyes on the kids. However, I particularly loved that these dads admit experiencing the same career set-backs as stay-at-home moms.
Progress has been achingly slow in accommodating women who stay home when they re-enter the workforce. Staying at home was never sitting on the couch eating chips all day. Stay-at-homes organize, mediate, volunteer, and hone valuable management skills. Some employers, though not the majority, are starting to get this...slowly. For most, staying at home stymies career advancement. Rubbish!
So...I'm smiling because I know the tide has to turn. Women are earning more degrees than men (sorry guys: 57% of bachelor's, 59% of master's), and more education means greater earnings, paving the way for them to be the breadwinners. As they do, maybe, just maybe, what stay-at-home moms have always known will now be acknowledged: it's hard work! Then we'll see those perceptions change. Companies will accommodate caretaking of all kinds, and value employees who have made this difficult decision.
What do you think?
posted by Maddox Smye at
5:15 PM
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