to make a pact with OH about childcare if its you who wants the children?

[burgatroyd]

...was very interested by a current thread about why some dads are disinterested in their children. A couple of comments came up with the theory that perhaps many fathers were persuaded into having the kids and this was the deal?
Out of interest did you have to cajole your OH into having children and therefore let him get away with little childcare input, or at least not attending children's parties?
Am quite interested?

[Vitalstatistix]

yeah. Nobody takes any notice of the strapline, fet loads of people with no interest at all in kids hang out here.

[StrawberryMouse]

We had two unplanned pregnancies very close together so we are both equally screwed. Although DH's life is still recognisable.

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Since we now know from another thread that BadLad posts with his willy, I think a is in order.

DH wanted children more than I did and, in fact, he persuaded me to have DD. I still do more than he does day to day with her.

I think this argument is a red herring for lazy people who want to coast and have other people do the heavy lifting in life.

[FET14]

I think mumsnet needs a new strapline?

[BadLad]

Been posting occasionally for about two years.

[Staryyeyedsurprise]

When talking about whether to have DC2, I was more for it that DH - he was more than happy with DC1 whereas I felt we should try for DC2 and see where it took us. I was pregnant very quickly - much quicker than expected and as such, I wondered whether I'd co-erced him into it. My husband is a lovely man and never ever gave me reason to think it but I did wonder whether we'd have any "no, YOU wanted the baby YOU see to them during the night" conversations. Of course we didn't. we did have conversations like "I'm flipping knackered - you do it"

Although I was the one who pushed for DC2, DH absolutely cherishes them and does more than his fair share.

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

DH was happy to be childless. When DD arrived, he's such a hands on dad even my mum commented how good he is with DD. I have to admit he plays with her more. While I'm happy to play with my tablet and let her play by herself. I'm pregnant with our second and again he said he'd prefer to have only one. Only time will tell if he's also very hands on with the new one.

[museumum]

actually, correction, i have not HAD to cut to 20hrs, I could have continued to work 40hrs too - it was my choice, but I didn't want ds to do five very long days in childcare from a very young age.

[i've just noticed how easy it is to say 'i had to x,y,z' and am making a conscious effort to acknowledge that these things ARE choices, even if they often seem 'no brainer' choices...]

[museumum]

we were probably equally as keen/nervous... but I was the one with really concrete worries about my career and stuff so we talked about childcare etc. I knew before I married dh that he worked in a sector that is prehistoric in it's attitude to parttime working and parenting and work/life balance... that was a big part of my nervousness and if i had married a previous boyfriend in a more similar field to me i wouldn't have been so concerned. we discussed this a lot and dh does a lot at the weekend and evenings when he can to make up for the fact he's still working a 45hr+ week while i've had to cut to 20hrs and do all the nursery runs.

[Thisvehicleisreversing]

Things followed a natural path with us.

Ds1 was a happy accident. We both made the decision to have him so when he was born any looking after was definitely 50/50.

DH wasn't as sure about having a second child so I think I took over the baby care of DS2 more.

Now they're older DH tends to spend more time with them than I do as they share hobbies. I tend to do more of the school/doctors/buying clothes type stuff.

[Vitalstatistix]

fet - there are loads of mners who don't have kids. This isn't really a parenting board, more a chat forum with a few parenting topics if you really want to use them.

I happen to have children but have spent more time discussing whether a jaffa cake is a cake or a biscuit than I have spent discussing my kids.

I don't think most people come here to talk to parents, but to have conversations with intelligent, articulate people.

For some reason, MN (ime) has more of these than many other sites.

Plus it's HUGE and no matter what you want to talk about or know about - you will always find someone.

[GuybrushThreepwoodMP]

We wanted it equally. Even if I had pressure my partner, I would get prey upset if they refused to do things because they hasn't wanted them anyway (I now someone who constantly throws this line at his wife whenever she wants him to play with them for 5 minutes). Personally I would only want children with someone who wants them equally. But then my parents wouldn't let me have a dog no matter how many times I promised I would walk it.

[FET14]

BadLad - good post. I like your honesty. Did you join Mumsnet just to post that though...? Just confused as to why you're a member of a parenting board, if you don't have kids and definitely don't want them in the future. Or are there lots of other MN-ers in a similar situation? Forgive my ignorance!

[MillionPramMiles]

Fathers often do less because society (and all too often their wives/partners) lets them believe its perfectly acceptable.

A father who happens to change a few nappies, do a few school runs, you know, basic childcare is 'hands on' or 'involved' whereas a mother doing as little would be tutted furiously.

Fathers routinely see their children two weekends a month after divorce and that's seen as the norm whereas mothers who leave the family home are reviled.

If you want equality expect it, demand it. It's irrelevant who's idea it was in the first place to have a child.

[melissa83]

Dh and I were really really broody before we had children. We are on number 3 now and we have already talked about the next.

[BadLad]

I know I would absolutely hate everything that parenting involves. Getting up in the night for feeds / crying, sitting in soft play centres, choosing holidays based on how much the kids would enjoy them, changing shitty nappies, doing the school run and all the other rigmarole needed for bringing up children.

But if the worst had happened, I don't think it's remotely fair to insist the other partner does all that, just because I didn't want them. Therefore I have always been totally, completely, marriage-ruiningly adamant that I won't ever have them.

[Mammuzza]

I wouldn't assume that the person doing the greater degree of wanting is the one that does the bulk of the heavey lifting and being around for the long haul.

SIL was "take it or leave it" about children. My brother wasn't he wanted them. A lot.

She still did the bulk of the heavey lifting. Had a second becuase Brother wanted 2.

He left her when she was 8.5 months pregnant.

Talking to him as it happened, I probed a little, and the arse accidentslly revealed that he knew he wanted out (replacement already lined up), but didn't want his first child to have the oh so terrible curse of being an only child. So failed to mention to SIL he was checking out once he'd finished using her as a brood mare.

Then when the youngest was 6 weeks old he fucked off entirely and nobody saw hide nor hair of him until six months ago. The oldest is now 14.

Arses are arses, be they playing the martyred "oh I never wanted them anyway" card, or the one pushing hard for procreation.

Thank god for SIL. She may not have been the one who was so desperate for kids. But she entered into it with emphasis on the concept of them being tiny human beings, who need and benefit from a hands on, non resentful, emotional connection. So regardless of her initial "meh" stance about starting a family, when she agreed, she did so on the basis of "all in" and no fence sitting.

Just as well really considering who they got lumbered with as their father.

[FET14]

Hello burga

I'm glad you've followed the other thread that I've started and that it's generated another one here. Both make for an interesting read!

[ICanSeeTheSun]

DH wanted a child and had to convince me, I do the majority of childcare due to his work patterns. He has had to have lots of direction from me.

[middleeasternpromise]

My OH was the one who wanted children and not me I made him contemplate a life without children prior to agreeing to marry as I really couldn't see it happening. Once together I felt it was selfish to deny him kids as he liked them so much BUT once here he turned all Victorian told me they were 'my' responsibility and did nothing unless he had no where else to go and then played with them. Hes since disappeared.

[Sapat]

I think it is fair to say that DH was not particularly bothered about whether or not to have children. When I declared I was ready he agreed, but we did have that conversation where we agreed that we would do this together, it was not him indulging my whim. He has never been interested in the pregnancies (not uncaring towards me or the babies, just not interested in interacting with the bump) but once babies were born he became a proper father and shares parenting equally. I have been the primary carer for the babies because I am on maternity leave and exclusively breastfeed, but every time I have gone back to work he does his fair share.

I think with men and children you never quite know. When I met DH almost 20 years ago he swore he would never get married, have kids (or live in an estate for that matter), well now he has done all three, of his own free will and I dare say is content with life. I think you need to chose the father of your children carefully, not as a sperm donor, but as a man who is capable of loving and caring for his children as well as supporting and respecting you. It is a bit of a gamble, but you must have stacked the odds in your favour. And under no circumstances must he be forced/bribed/tricked into having kids. Even if he loves them, there will be an element of resentment that will destroy any relationship as it must be based on trust and respect.

[Writerwannabe83]

My DH bought up the subject of having a baby himself and I was horrified at the thought He asked again 6 months later and I still said no. Another 5 months later though I agreed

It's not always the women who wants the baby

[Rosebug258]

I wanted children and my husband was adamant that he didnt, 7 years later we have 2 and he is an amazing dad, helps out as much as he can, weekend I don't have to lift a finger, apart from cooking (he works away most weeks)

He said he goal in life is to make me happy which he has done by giving me 2 fab kids.

Some people I know have pressured their partners into babies and its not ended well at all for either of them and I have found its mainly men putting pressure on the women.

[AnonyMan]

I assumed that no-one in their right mind, male or female, could possibly want to have children. A small generator of noise and shit, inside your home, fraying your nerves day and night, no way to turn it off. What sort of mad person would want that?

However, having noticed there were lots of children in the world, I had to come up with a theory why this might be. I assumed that with women it was some sort of temporary insanity induced by biology, and that men went along with it in return for sex.

We discussed this before marriage. DW was adamant that she would kill herself now if she knew children weren't in her future. I agreed on condition she would bend over backwards to as far as possible do everything child-related, and spare me the horror...

(I have discovered that there is in fact an upside to having children, glad to have mine. Despite doing most of the child-care work, it is mostly DW who is better off and me who is worse off as a consequence of our being married, so please don't feel sorry for her. If children and financial considerations were not an obstacle to divorce, I'm the one who would be off like a shot.)

[Pobblewhohasnotoes]

No, we both wanted children. We parent equally in our house, DH has always done night feeds, nappies and looks after DS if I'm at work, he's a great Dad.

I couldn't have kids with someone who didn't really want them, it's hard work and not fair on the child.