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Original poster

What do you think about "not doing anything" when children are at school/nursery?

661 replies

morningpaper · 19/05/2005 12:04

My daughter's peers are starting nurseries ... and I'm finding myself really SHOCKED at the fact that my mummy-friends aren't doing anything with their time while their children are out of the home. I asked a friend last week what she did and she said "Oh I just get home, tidy up a bit, have a coffee - and then I have to pick him up again!"

As I work from home there is ALWAYS some work I can do. I also do voluntary work and could always do with more time to get stuff done.

I also don't understand why their partners are happy with them just taking 'mornings off' to themselves - aren't they a bit miffed?

I'm probably just jealous but I can't help but think that they are just plain lazy! What do other people feel about this?!

OP posts:
Caligula · 19/05/2005 14:15

I think something like 30% of my job consisted of flicking through mags when I worked in advertising... it could always be justified as "research". Great contribution to society I was making...

WideWebWitch · 19/05/2005 14:16

Enid, we're here

Enid · 19/05/2005 14:17

I'm at work now

Marina · 19/05/2005 14:17

And I bet you needed a good 2.1 from the right university at the tax-payers' expense to even get the interview for that Caligula

Caligula · 19/05/2005 14:17

I'm supposed to be working

Marina · 19/05/2005 14:17

Umm, me too

Caligula · 19/05/2005 14:18

It's just occurred to me that Mumsnet could be the cause of the collapse of the economy within about five years... British productivity levels plummet...

Toothache · 19/05/2005 14:18

I'm at work too!!

Fio2 · 19/05/2005 14:18

i have two dogs to walk and a house to renovate and sometimes i do go back to bed as dd gets up about 5 times in the night and after 5 1/2 years its a bloody arsebreak i tell you

Original poster
morningpaper · 19/05/2005 14:20

Never mind the economy, Caligula, what about all our delinquent children?

It would be better if I drank!

OP posts:
PollyFiller · 19/05/2005 14:21

Actually I agree with victoriapeckham (never thought I'd say that)to a certain extent.

Especially in the light of some recent threads about how unfulfilling it is being a SAHM.

WideWebWitch · 19/05/2005 14:23

But PollyFiller, I don't think any sahms on the unfulfilling thread were saying we'd be unfulfilled if we had loads of time and money on our hands without children!

WigWamBam · 19/05/2005 14:25

"Plumping cushions and flicking magazines"??

Why is it that nannies, childminders, cleaners, taxi drivers, school teachers, playground assistants, cooks and so on are all seen to have "proper" jobs, yet when SAHMs do all of these things in rotation (24 hours a day in a lot of cases, let's not forget), we're lazy cows who sit on our arses all day drinking coffee and watching television and doing nothing for the country?

Bugger off and pick on someone who deserves to be picked on.

PollyFiller · 19/05/2005 14:26

But victoriapeckham is right, isn't she - doing nothing IS a bit of a waste of an education?

bossykate · 19/05/2005 14:26

24hrs/day? oh come on.

Lonelymum · 19/05/2005 14:28

The way I see it (and I have only read the first few posts so forgive me if this has moved on now) sitting around not doing much when I have a spare minute is one of the perks of what is otherwise an unremitting, unpaid, largely unappreciated full-time job.

PollyFiller · 19/05/2005 14:30

A good point, bossykate.

I've done the wage slave bit and the SAHM bit. I would say that I find the latter to be much less pressurised and stressful.

lima · 19/05/2005 14:30

Pollyfiller -I worked for 20 yrs - I think they got their money's worth out of me

Caligula · 19/05/2005 14:31

PollyFiller, what do you think the function of education is?

How on earth can being educated ever be wasted?

The Philistines are upon us, as Miss Jean Brodie once said.

Run for the hills!

Fio2 · 19/05/2005 14:32

pmsl caligula

Original poster
morningpaper · 19/05/2005 14:32

WWB: I'm not talking about SAHMs who do this 24 hours a day. I'm talking about SAHMs who have no children from 9-3.

'Bugger off' is a bit unreasonable IMO.

OP posts:
compo · 19/05/2005 14:33

Totally agree with WigWamBam. I think its sad that SAHM are described as lazy just because they get an hour or so to themselves a day - even if the kids are at school that is still all you get after you've done everything else like food shopping, housework, picking up kids etc. And so what if you spend an hour reading a book? Doesn't everyone always say a happy mum makes a happy child? Isn't that for the good of society? Most working parents get lunch breaks/tea breaks - why shouldn't sahm's? It's jealously poor and simple all this 'lazy' talk

PollyFiller · 19/05/2005 14:33

I'm not advocating some kind of Gradgrindian "functional" eduation, not for a moment.

But having been educated at the taxpayers' expense, do we not have a duty to put something back into society (over and above being parents)?

victoriapeckham · 19/05/2005 14:33

I'm not talking about those who do voluntary work, become JPs, run the PTA etc. I think not having an outlet for their energy except their families is making many women unhappy.

compo · 19/05/2005 14:35

mp - do you know how hard it is to get a part time job that fits around school hours and scholl holidays? Is that what you do?