Expectations on your children...
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Expectations on your children...
| Thu, 06-03-2004 - 1:56pm |
Wrt their working status/parenting as an adult?
If you SAH, will you encourage your daughter (or son) to do the same? How would you feel if they chose different from the path you have taken as a parent?

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If jobs that are physically demanding guarantee injuries and WC claims, wouldn't this support the argument that an employer would hire the stronger individual? The one more capable *physically* of performing the work sans injury?
More likely than not, this would be a man. Not in every case, but in most of them.
FTR - by saying this I'm not calling women "inferior", I'm just being honest. An average woman is more limited *physically* than an average man.
The fact that lots of cultures have and still do given parents the means to control their childrenns' adult lives doesn't mean it's a good idea. When does it stop being a good idea? When the family in question is living in a culture where it is NOT the norm and so the adult children have the option of completely ignoring their parents' attempts at control and will often just do what they do with no regard at all to the parents' plans. Wise parents will invest a lot of time trying to convince their kids of the wisdom of a particular course but will step back if their children choose a different path. Not-so-wise parents will not stop at selling the concept but will try to bribe, cajole, threaten or guilt-trip their kids into following a particular path. The problem there is that if the kid hasn't been convinced by 18+ years of parental insistence that this (college, whatever) is the best way, bribes and guilt-trips wont change their minds. They have to BELIEVE that it is the best path, not just pretend to follow it to get the $ and get mommy to shut up.
In the U.S. and some other countries, parents don't hold all the cards. In fact, parents only hold one card after age 18...money. Children hold the other card which is really the trump card...their willingness to include their parents in their lives after the age of 18.
You seem to have an idea that girls are not automatically expected to get educated and be able to support themselves. This has not been my experience. Why do you have this perception? I can't answer that question, because I haven't lived your experiences and your experiences seem to have been so unlike my own that I really am curious to know. So I'll ask again:
"is this a perception of yours based on how you grew up or the area you live in? Or do you really see this as a universal societal expectation (ie that boys have careers but girls should preferentially just stay at home)? "
Naturally, if there is something embarrasing about your childhood or current situation so that you don't feel you discuss your experiences with regard to this topic.......
Laura
Here's an instance ...
Construction worker/carpenter needs to pour a small slab of cement. Not enough for a cement mixer, just a wheelbarrow will do. However, said carpenter can't carry the 50lb bag of mix from the truck to the front porch of the house. Has to have someone else do it.
Or, carpenter needs to cut an 8ft 4x4 .. but can't carry it from the truck to the work area.
There are some things that just need strength (not to mention arm span and height) that tools can't substitute for.
Choose your friends by their character and your socks by their color. Choosing your socks by their character makes no sense and choosing your friends by their color is unthinkable.
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