RIGHT - i'm not letting this one pass
Seeker "I suppose it depends on the circumstances of the sah person and the job of the oth person. Before I gave up work, I was out for at least 12 hours a day, I rarely had more than 30 minutes for lunch, had coffee breaks at my desk and was under continuous deadline pressure. I loved it!
DP is in a similar job still.
Being at home is sometimes boring, sometimes stressful, but, apart from when the dcs were very tiny, it is always possible to get all the household-y things done and still have time to spare. Children are full on and demanding, but they do sleep, they do play, they do watch tv - and they can't sack you, give you a crap annual review, and your childrearing is very rarely the subject of a judicial review! "
I would suggest that if you find being a SAHM so boring and free of challenge that you go back to your nine til five. Being housemaid does not come into my remit of being a SAHM. Before i had DD i was doing a PhD and my work had clinical relevance and the pressure was emmense and yes, i loved it (on reflection . If i didnt do my work, then the charities funding my research would have been let down, there would be less funding for the department, i sometimes worked from 7am til midnight, nearly worked myself into a nervous breakdown, i loved it and and it was worthwhile. BUT nowhere near as demanding and challenging as being a SAHM, i try to play WITH my DD and i do let her watch telly but i minimise it and i watch with her. If the houseworky things don't get done, well they will still be there tomorrow, while she is asleep i have no intention of running myself ragged to keep a perfect house. I find your thread really quite condescending to be honest. No one is going to subject my parenting to a judicial review that is true. There are more important things at stake, like, you know - A HAPPY CHILD . Ive had other stressful jobs, long hours, high resposibility, sometimes low pay, and nothing compares to being a mum, if you think it is easier than going to work, you clearly aren't giving it 100% and you should consider going back to work. There is no way i would pay my money on stuff for the house, but then we don't have spare money just now because i choose to be a mum. Its all about personal curcumstance, if you feel like you are making a personal sacrifice by being a mum and having to be a stepford wife then go back to work, its that simple. This is the toughest, most tiring and stressfull job i have ever had, and the most rewarding [spitting teeth emoticon]