Yep totally.
I'm amazed by the number of women saying "time to be me" or "time for myself" and "was a break" I've never known an employer pay good wages for people to take a break being authentically themselves whilst finding themselves in some quasi spiritual way.
I preferred looking after my own children on my terms, in my own way, setting my own goals, managing my own time and had a clear value based remit for how I wanted to parent based on what I hoped to achieve. Children need consistency from a constant care giver, clear boundaries and expectations, safety and love. They require someone to love them unconditionalally who can help them make sense of the emotions, form attachments which are healthy and sustained not variable and inconsistent, fleeting or superficial.
I studied, set up a business and home schooled. I was certainly never bored. I'm more than capable of finding things to do without being managed.
I now work with LAC. So many children have been failed. I don't want to get into a bun fight but trust me it's not only DC from poor socioeconomic backgrounds that are finding themselves on care orders. This ideology that parenting is a mugs game and boring, and that only through selling your labour can you be realised as a full equal and valuable member of society is false. We are not and should not aspire to be only valued for what job title we have, how much we earn.
So many threads floating around MN with parents begging to be alleviated of their burden to parent their teenagers. So many seem to believe that it's everyone other than them to be responsible for their own children.
People think Bowlby and others are out dated shite whilst still rattling on about "ooh but what attachment style do you have" to every post in relationships!
Someone, virtually anyone could be trained to shovel profits for boss. Its not really difficult, as stated in the "it's a break" comments. Parenting is difficult, it's hard. But it's not about selfishly following the path of least effort for maximum reward, having a chat or gossip at the photo copier, seeking the validation of others, or hoping that through work you'll reach nirvana and find ones true authentic valuable self, no it's about putting the needs of others before your own. And so many people are unable to do this now. And it shows. Angry people, mentally ill kids, road rage, lack of empathy, lack of any sense of personal responsibility.
oh, and I want back 13 years later, work less and earn more....... I didn't miss much.