Heart vs. Head: The work status decision

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Heart vs. Head: The work status decision
2102
Tue, 01-17-2006 - 1:03pm
Did you make your decision to SAH/WAH/WOH ft/pt based primarily on objective/tangible factors, or with your heart?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:07pm

<<1. When the 4year old attends preschool and the youngest is taking a nap.

2. When the 4year old is on a playdate and the youngest takes a nap.

3. The mother could hire a sitter to come in and watch the oldest while the she and the baby sleep.

Three opportunities right there.

What opportunities does the wohp have while at work to make up sleep?>>

1. - Works if your youngest takes a nap while older child is at preschool. And what about if you have three kids w/oldest in preschool? My younger two do not nap at the same time. I have never had this scenario work for me.

2. My oldest son does not go on playdates yet. Most of his friends from school live too far for playdates to work and the only friend in our neighborhood goes to a different school and then to extended daycare.

3. Not everyone can find a daytime sitter - most babysitters are teenagers or college students who are in class during the day. None of my sitters are available during the day.

As for WOHP? They have an entire lunchhour when they could sleep. Granted, not everyone has a place to sleep at work, but then again, not every SAHP has the opportunities like you mention in your examples either.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:11pm

Until this year, I had all four of my kids home with me for the greater part of every day. My dd attended half-day kindergarten every day, while my son was in preschool just 3 days a week. Factor in drive times, changing/feeding baby, tending to my toddler, etc - there was no opportunity for naps. And no, we did not do playdates very often. Actually, my dd was the only one who did playdates last year and they weren't even every week. Plus we had to reciprocate.

Fortunately, sleep deprivation was not an issue for me as I don't need much sleep to function well.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:12pm
Whoops! I should have finished the thread before posting - my answers were the same as yours LOL!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:15pm
How is that three opportunities to one? Those three opportunities don't apply to everyone.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:17pm
Every place I ever worked allowed for two 15-minute breaks, as well as lunch. Not that everyone took 15 minute breaks (except the smokers), but certainly breaks are not only found in the Swedish workplace.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:18pm
That pretty much sums up my life as I know it presently! LOL
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:23pm
Ugh, that happens to me too. Fortunately though, I can function on little sleep. But it still sucks when you are watching the clock, trying to fall asleep but knowing the alarm is going to go off as soon as you finally fall asleep! Dh is like you though - he needs a lot of sleep. Fortunately though, he is a sound sleeper, can sleep through almost anything, and if/when awoken, he immediately falls back asleep. This became a very sore subject when trying to get our babies to sleep through the night. He'd want to let them CIO - great for him b/c he'd just fall back asleep while I lay there listening to the baby cry and cry. We had a few too many battles in the middle of the night. Thank God those days are behind us. Can you believe Patricia will be ONE a week from tomorrow? Man, time flies.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:24pm
Why shouldn't sick kids be left with a nanny? Daycares don't allow them because they would come under fire from parents of the other kids if the sick kid spread someting through the daycare. But that's irrelevent with a nanny.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:28pm
So what if you had child who was frequently sick due to something like asthma, or was susceptible to having multiple ear infections and you just did not have the leave available to constantly be taking time off? Some working parents don't have the option or perhaps they don't work in a family friendly environment so constantly taking time off will not bode well for their success at work. If someone specially hires a nanny for those types of reasons, I don't see why it matters as long as the child is being nurtured and cared for.
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2005
Wed, 02-08-2006 - 6:47pm

Bullcrap. Total total bullcrap.

Any kid that doesn't sleep well for non-medical reasons ... its the parents' fault?

Bullcrap. Total total bullcrap.

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