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.

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 8:58am

Oh, please. My youngest always called dc school, mostly so he could feel grown up like his sister. Would you rather have me correct him and make him cry by insisting that he wasn't going to school like his big sister? GMAFB!

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:04am

That's very narrow thinking. You can work more than 180 and still not use aftercare. It depends on your situation. I swap babysitting with friends on school holidays and during the summer, my dd helps out, dh and I take some of our vacation weeks at opposite times, I WAH a bit also. It takes a great deal of flexibility and lots of juggling but it can be done. If you are going to view it as "I will only look for jobs that I have to work 180 days a year", then my suspicion is that you won't find much of anything.

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:12am

no. the dcp benefits society in two ways. she cares for children (as does the sahp--which i noted is a benefit to society, though perhaps in a previous post), and she makes it possible for the wohp to make an additional contribution through paid or volunteer work and the sahp to make an additional contribution through volunteer work.

this isn't complicated--unless, of course, you are trying to read anti-sah sentiment into it, or trying to prove that sah is superior.




Edited 10/26/2006 10:38 am ET by chimaira
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-21-2001
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:18am
teacher, guidance counselor (SIL is a guidance counselor and works 185 days a year)
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-14-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:35am

i just realized, perhaps i am stumping you by not talking about sahms and wohms, but about sah and woh (the individual circumstances of individual m's being far too variable to address in generalizations)--maybe that distinction will clarify what i am saying to you. as i noted before, the difference between sah and woh is that one involves working (for income) and the other doesn't, and that is what i have defined as "unique"--something that is inherent to one and nonexistant in the other. i have allowed that sahps can and often do contribute to society through (unpaid) work; i have never said that sahps *can't* contribute more to society than the care for their children, nor that their caring for their children is not contributing something to society. but by definition, wohps pretty much necessarily not only care for their children but also make another social contribution, unless their work is something that provides zero benefit to society--say, that of a hitwoman, paid under the table.

go ahead and tell me again that i have suggested that sah has no social value. or, better still, reread what i have said, and give me credit for it--eh: <<>> http://messageboards.ivillage.com/n/mb/message.asp?webtag=iv-pssahwoh&msg=17212.772

Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:45am

Well, I don't agree that dc at any particular age is evil, but I can understand why some parents prefer not to put their kids in group care at a young age.

I don't think 5 is a magic age for school, either. I started school as a young 5, and I didn't make the same choice for my younger dd, who has a late summer birthday like me. Culturally, the norm used to be half-day K, and now the norm seems to be moving toward all-day K. We're pushing on the age for school, and on the academics we require of young kids, and not everybody is happy about that.

Certainly there's no magic change between 4.5 and 5, but there really *is* a big difference between a toddler and a 5-yr-old. And some 5-yr-olds might not be ready for today's K (mine wasn't.)

Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:53am
I can understand why you would find returning to work complicated under your circumstances, but I didn't find it overly difficult. I have only two kids, 2.5 years apart, and I haven't had to worry about seniority or accumulated vacation days because I work pt. I think a lot of returning to work parents go back pt.
Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:55am
I actually have a job like that. I work pt, but I have summers and Christmas break off. I consider myself very fortunate.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 9:57am

Well, I can tell you that my dd was ready for school at age 3. She absolutely loved group care and could not get enough of it. She thrived on activity and hated downtime, rightfrom the time she was old enough to be mobile. She is now a senior in HS and is still that way. My ds, OTOH, was the total opposite. I could have held him back from starting K until he was 6. I think kids are all wired differently. I recoginize that. However, what I believe pust some WOHMs off is the notion that somehow some SAHMS have decided that once a child turns 5, is acceptable to send them off to K, while chastizing a WOHP for sending a child under 5 to dc, irrespective of the childs needs and abilities.

Susan

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 10-26-2006 - 10:06am
Plus you have a family member to do childcare.

<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> 

Pages