Unique contributions to society

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-06-2006
Unique contributions to society
1504
Thu, 10-19-2006 - 4:12pm

In another thread, the "unique" contributions of SAHM's were alluded to but it wasn't stated what they are. Let's play a game and find out what they are. First, pretend that as of tomorrow, all moms SAH and detail what will be missing from society then pretend that all moms go to work and detail what will be missing from society. I'm really curious as to what people think a world without SAHM's orWOHM's would look like.

If all the moms who SAH went to work then the library would move story hour to the evening and summer vacation bible school would be held in the evenings so that all kids can attend and not just the kids of SAHM's. Banks would likely shift their hours to later in the day and you'd see more 24 hour stores. I think there would be more home cooking style restaurants too. I think day care centers would improve because of increased demand.

If all moms who WOH suddenly SAH, you'd see fewer service industries around because moms could do things themselves instead of paying for them. The nursing shortage would be more of a shortage. We'd probably have a shortage of teachers too. There'd be fewer government services because there'd be less tax dollars to pay for them. I can't think of anything else right now.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2006
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 3:49pm
Earning power isn't the sole measure of anyone's work ethic.

Sabina

Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-04-1997
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 3:58pm
Same at our house. We do things a bit differently in that he pays most of the non-kid related recurring bills and his personal expenses and I pay most of the kid-related stuff plus my own expenses. But we always discuss when one of us is thinking of making some change or something. Like we got a new vision plan at work and I talked to him to make sure we both signed up and was it worth signing up the one kid of ours with 20/13 vision at all? And he and I talked awhile ago about switching auto insurance or at least looking around for a better rate, but I told him I really like our agent and they really, really came through for us when we had a wreck in 2000 and then in 2002, he got struck by a car while crossing the street on foot, so we owed them some loyalty points. We have these conversations all the time, usually in front of the kids, so they get some sense of our values and what it takes to run a household.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 3:59pm
The option lots of married couples use (when one suddenly loses a job) is to BOTH sit down and figure out where mutual belts can be tightened. I find it really weird that the belt-tightening would be for only one spouse and the other keeps right on spending as they always have as though the amount of money they have hasn't been affected. When one of you is between jobs, isn't it something you're in TOGETHER? The family income overall has been reduced so why does one spouse get to keep right on spending as though single rather than married?
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-27-1998
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:26pm

Off topic.

PumpkinAngel

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2004
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:44pm

I understand. I think that there are as many different ways to run a family as there are families.

Robin

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:45pm

All I can say is WOW. I don't make demands and neither does my dh. Our marriage is about mutual respect and compromise. I honestly cannot think of a single instance in our 10 years of marriage where either one of us "made demands" of the other no matter what our work status. THat's just not how we work though problems or issues. For us, it is about finding a compromise. Getting my way? I would feel very sad about the state of my marriage if I was looking at problems and feeling smug about "getting my way" more than my dh. That is not at all how our relationship works.

I find it interesting that you seem to know so much about the personal relationships of your supposed friends. Perhaps the group of friends I have are more private when it comes to their personal lives but I don't really discuss the details of my relationship with others that I know IRL.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:46pm
LOL, I didn't read any responses to her post b/f posting my own and it looks like we had a similar reaction...even using the same word WOW!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:48pm
Oh, so now you know how all WOHMs operate their households. My friend who is a WOHM, BTW, does not cook dinner, nor does she clean her house. Her dh cooks dinner every night and she has a cleaning lady. How is she modeling taking care of her home? I guess her kids will grow up to think that dads are the ones who cook, and cleaning ladies are the ones who clean.
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-12-2004
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:49pm

I agree. I had a dentist that repeatedly rescheduled appointments. After the third time I found another dentist. I don't care what the reason for rescheduling was.

Robin

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2000
Mon, 10-23-2006 - 4:52pm

I am absolutely shocked that you think that simply b/c you now outearn your dh, you get to pick the restaurant.

OMG, this thread is almost laughable.

I cannot imagine being married to someone whose respect for me and my opinion/wants/needs was based on the amount of money I was earning.

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