Were you proud of your parents jobs when you were a kid?

[BabyLlamaZen]

Including if one of them was a sahp? And what are your thoughts on them now?

I'm curious to see the answers on this! I was always incredibly proud of what both my parents did (mum in high powered professional role, dad part time teacher and part time sahd). I didn't see one as better than the other, despite the pay and status difference.

I wonder if this is always the case?

[Crylittlesister]

I don't recall thinking much about it as a primary aged child, but by the time I was in secondary school, I was quite embarrassed that my mother didn't work. (She did eventually go back to work when I was 14).

[StCharlotte]

I was massively proud of my dad's job (In the arts), he was a bit of a local celeb so everyone knew what he did. Also my mum had done some of the same job until child no. 2 came along. I was no. 5 so by then she was a housewife until I started school and then she started working again.

They both also gave much of their time to the community and were such lovely parents too. We may not have had as much time with them as modern kids do but the time we did have was pure quality. I appreciate I was very lucky.

[notheragain4]

My mum progressed into a management level role in my teen years, she'd always worked but this was the first time she tried to progress and I remember helping her with her exams. I was extremely proud of her and it motivated me to become the career driven woman I am today.

Both parents always worked growing up and it did a lot for my work ethic which is why I've never felt any guilt for DH and I working as I've experienced the benefits (and drawbacks of course) myself, although thankfully I work much more flexibly than my parents ever could.

[Cauterize]

I should add as I got older I was definitely proud of just how hard my mum worked to bring me up, not of her job as such, it was admin rather than a status job.

[Cauterize]

Parents divorced - I remember desperately wanting my mum to be at home as was with (not very nice) childminders you until the age of about ten when I started letting myself in after school. Very lonely though.

My Dad - well, he was a car crash. Let's just say I was highly embarrassed by him and his lifestyle.

[moanyhole]

Didnt really think about it as a child. Dad was a uni professor, mam a sahm. Even now it hasnt occured to me to be proud, it was just what they did. Being honest though we would have been a lot happier if my mother had worked. She was very frustrated not working and took that out on us. I would have been a lot happier child coming home to a childminder.

[HappydaysArehere]

When I was a young and looking for a job it was common place to get asked what your father did. My dad had worked for years for a very good wallpaper/paint firm and knew the business inside out. He managed the stock, served, gave advice and drove the van with deliveries. I went for an interview at the Treasury and was asked what he did. I said he was a van driver. At that point I sensed I had blown the interview. They didn’t even have the courtesy to inform me that I had not been successful. This was in the fifties.

[Stopyourhavering64]

My dad worked in whisky industry and had the corner office in a very imposing building , so I had an idea he was quite high up in his company as we'd get a chauffeur to take us to airport when we went on holiday ( late 60's/ early 70's!) , although he retired when I was 12 , and was lucky he was home when I was teenager although used to play a lot of golf
My parents were mature when I was born ( dad was 50) and had both been widowed young with young children
Mum had a successful shop which she'd sold when she married my dad so they could buy their house outright and she could be a sahm ( she was 40 when she had me ) ...she had a very strong work ethic as she'd been widowed aged 31 and had to provide for her son - she'd left school aged 14 to look after her mum and often wished she'd had opportunity to go to University
I know I had a very privileged childhood but I know my parents would have been extremely proud of the career I've made for myself, sadly my df died when I was 20 but my dm was very proud of my achievements

[RaingodsWithZippos]

I never thought about it at primary - my friends' parents had a mixture of normal jobs like dinner lady, secretary, bank cashier, hairdresser, teacher, builder etc. But I went to a private school for secondary and suddenly my mum's part time secretarial job for a tiny independent company, and my dad's string of redundancies throughout the recession, felt so embarrassing next to my new friends' parents who were doctors, solicitors, head teachers, stockbrokers, MPs, CEOs. I had a friend whose mum was a secretary for an estate agent and her dad worked in a factory, but we were the anomalies. I think if I had gone to a normal school I would have been fine but it just highlighted the gulf between scholarship me and loaded them.

I would like to think DS is not ashamed of my job (middle management in civil service) and his dad's security job, but then who knows? I know he didn't like me going to parents evenings because I would ask questions and challenge things i wasn't happy about, unlike some of his friends mums who would just go, listen and nod. He is not keen on me being opinionated and able to hold my own!

[tobee]

My dad was in advertising which had quite flashy trappings in the 70s . It wasn't til I was older that I realised it was quite a good job and he was lucky that he enjoyed it a lot.

My mum was a social worker helping single mothers (usually teenagers) listening to and counselling their problems. Helping them to get housing, benefits, clothes, equipment etc for their children. There was a lot of stigma about single teenage mothers in the 80s and they were often kicked out by their parents. There was also a very high number of teenage pregnancies in the U.K..

I'm very proud of what my parents did, but especially my mum as there wasn't much status involved. A lot of people thought teenage mums deserved all they got etc. Lots of hard work and emotional stress involved; sometimes going to court for cases of domestic violence against her clients etc.

[JustCallMeGriffin]

I was incredibly happy being a bus driver's daughter. Free trips to theme parks/zoos all over the UK and a bus pass until I turned 18 that gave me freedom to travel the entire country (if I stuck with local services!).

Never gave a thought to my mother having a "job". Dad worked, she took care of us, that's just how it was. They were equal in my eyes.

[Pipandmum]

My mother was a stay at home mother when we moved to another country- she worked part time as a social worker before.
I remember one girl in our class had divorced parents and her mother worked full time and we felt sorry for her (this was 70s) though I'm sure other mums worked.
My mother did start working again when we were older. I honestly don't remember being 'proud', they just did what they did.
I stopped working after my second child. My son (teen) seems to discount my contribution plus what I did when I worked, which was in a creative field and relatively low paid. My husband earned a high salary, which my son seemed to think meant he was more intelligent. I think he's beginning to understand that the world doesn't work that way. Children are naive and do not understand the value of certain things - they take parenting for granted. I believe my role in their lives will not be appreciated until they become parents themselves- I know I have a new respect for what my mother had to do raising three children when there were no disposable nappies and other modern conveniences we rely on.

[PastMyBestBeforeDate]

As a young teenager I didn't have any feelings about their 'normal for our area' jobs. I found out as an older teenager that df had turned down a defence job for moral reasons and I was proud that he did that. And I came to realise how difficult my dm's job was and I am proud of her for doing it well whilst being a mum who did that well too.

[Lardlizard]

Now i think they both worked full time but spent way too much on smoking n drinking and had poor priorities

[Lardlizard]

Not really I just wished I had a loving family member that was around

[CleanandJerk]

I grew up in a poor area and most of my classmates came from unemployed families. That was the norm. We were unusual in that both my parents worked but my father was self employed and both my parents were terrible with money so we were always broke. They still are.
I'm the only one of my siblings working.

[MadameBlobby]

@Yellredder

Can't say as i was particularly proud of their jobs - they just had jobs!

This really

Mum worked in a law firm cashroom and dad delivered bread. Didn’t really think much about it at all!

My mum and dad really stretched themselves to get a house in a pretty wealthy area so we could go to a good school, most of my friends and classmates’ parents were professionals, doctors, accountants etc.

[jessstan2]

I wasn't proud, just accepted. My mum was a SAHM and I certainly would have liked her to have a job. Dad was a printer, I can't say I ever gave it much thought.

[Grrretel]

Never really thought much about my parents' jobs!

My mum was a SAHM until I was about 8. I knew by my teens that she earned more than my dad which I thought was pretty cool. Didn't have feelings towards their jobs beyond that really.

[PineappleUpsideDownCake]

I feel a bit sad for those whose childrenare ashamed of their parents or worse, the sahm who is "pitied".

It seems so unfair that, as in life, their own shame isnt countered with love and pride but reflected back at them.

I hope parents will feel confident about their choices. A school friend decided to be a sahm as her mum died young of cancer and she wanted to be there for her children. She's recently died at 42, leaving teenagers and I'm sure made the right choice. She was awesome running so many community groups and an amazing mum.

[whiteroseredrose]

No. It's a job. My DF was a deputy head when he died. DM was a teacher then worked at the Uni running a PGCE course. DStepF is a Prof.

That's the way they make / made their money. Same as anyone else.

I was proud of other stuff but not their jobs.

[OnceBitten25]

I used to be embarrassed that my mum was a taxi driver. She used to be a nurse but had to give it up when my Dad left.
I can now see that she worked so very hard for a crap wage as she was too proud to claim benefits. It wasn't until my late teens when I stopped being a little shit that I realised I should have been proud of her from the start. She started work at 4.30am and didn't finish until 6pm.
Her health suffered as a result and she is retired now. I'm now in a position where I can help out and I couldn't be prouder of her for all the sacrifices she made for me and my siblings.

[AdoraBell]

Not really.

Father worked nights in the Post office, mother did early morning cleaning. Kept the bills paid and food on the table. She had left school early and he signed up to army at age 14 due to WW11. He was a shade over 6ft so got away with it but they kept him in the UK for 3 years doing things like packing parachutes. I didn’t know about that when I was a child.

[Mumoftwo12345]

Mum was a cleaner and dad was a lorry driver. I got bullied by some absolute cow at high school cause she said my mum was a scrubber and we were all scrubbers.
I'll never forget the laughing from all her little cronies.
I'm proud of my parents, I never went without and have done alright for myself.
I hate bullies.