Did your parents both work?

[IHaveLab]

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How did your parents handle the 'to work or not to work' dilemma when they raised you? What do you think of their decision? Will you raise your kids the same way?

 

[Bluntman]

How did your parents handle the 'to work or not to work' dilemma when they raised you? What do you think of their decision? Will you raise your kids the same way?

My dad wasn't in the picture, so my mom cut back on her teaching schedule when me and my bro were real young so she'd have time for us. Grandparents helped out too. When we were older she got us an au pair each year from Switzerland. Wasn't really a choice to do things this way, but everything worked out cool. In fact I feel like it made our family closer in a lot of ways than a lot of 2 parent households sometimes are. And obviously, when I have kids, I would like to raise them with a hot wife.

 

[lilnoelle]

How did your parents handle the 'to work or not to work' dilemma when they raised you? What do you think of their decision? Will you raise your kids the same way?

My mom only worked when we absolutely could not make it without the money and usually just for a short time. My dad was a farmer and so we were pretty poor. I have two children and both my husband and I work.
I would have preferred for one of us to stay with our kids, but if one of us ever does, it will be my husband. I'm heading to med school and he doesn't have a college degree.

 

[peterpansy]

My parents both worked. I have two siblings. My brother and I were both unplanned pregnancies, which iswhy we're only 1 year apart. My sister is 3 years younger - she was the only planned child. Other than the maternity leave after each of us was born (I think back then in Russia it amounted to 6 months per child), my mom has always worked full time, as did my dad. Our grandparents didn't even live in the same city, no aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., no babysitters. Have no idea how they managed to do it. But my mother taught all three of us to read, write, and count before we ever started school. She took us to music lessons and English lessons starting at the age of five, and always had time to help us with homework until about third grade, at which point we were pretty much self-sufficient. I think it worked out well, we never felt abandoned and at the same time learned to be responsible at a young age. However, that was years ago in Russia with limited resources. If I were to start a family now, and do the same, my kids would probably end up glued to the TV while some high school ditz and her boyfriend made use of the master bedroom. Hope that helps.

 

[Thundrstorm]

My father worked full time (more than full time, really), and my mother stayed home. She did run a daycare out of our house for years, but didn't make much money because she's kind of a bleeding heart. She regrets not going to college, and tells me all the time how her life didn't turn out the way she planned.


Unless I have some kind of radical personality transplant, I will never be a stay-at home mom.

 

[NonTradMed]

Both parents worked. Aside from a six week maternity leave and the initial three months when my mom first came to this country, my mom has always worked, my dad took only a 3 day paternity leave when I was born.

I plan on working as well. If anyone will stay home, it will be my husband. I dislike housework and fulltime, round the clock childcare and all the jazz that goes with being a fulltime, stay at home parent. Besides, I turned out fine with both parents working outside the home (no sex, drugs, ok, a bit of rock n'roll!), and feel very close to them today.

 

[musiclink213]

My parents always worked. My dad more than full time, he worked 11-12 hour days 6 days a week up until I was about 17. My mom worked when I was a baby, but I don't remember as what. When I started school, one of my friend's moms told my mom she could go back and become a teacher, and get insurance, retirement plan, all that good stuff which neither of my parents were getting. So she got her masters at night and became a teacher ever since. I ended up being raised mostly by my grandparents.

 

[PBandJ]

my parents both worked as teachers. my mom just retired, and my dad now works for the teachers' union. my brother and i (we're 17 months apart) had a babysitter who used to take care of us during the day before we were in school. once we started school, she just came by in the morning for a few years to help us get ready in the morning (my parents taught high school, so they were always out of the house before 7:00). we always had dinner together in the evenings, though, and it was really nice for all of us to be off during the summer.

i definitely plan on working and having a husband who works outside the home if/when i decide to have kids (which will be a LONG time from now).

 

[browniegirl86]

Dad has always worked full-time. He's a chemical engineer, so we have been fortunate to live comfortably since I was young. My parents were married for almost 10 years before I was born (they were both 31) so they had saved a lot of money. My mom worked before I was born, stayed home to raise me and my younger sister, and then went back to school (and later work) for library science when I was a freshman in high school. Now they both work full-time.

I have never really envisioned children as part of my life. Does that mean I won't have any? No. But right now, I just can't see it happening. If anything, I would adopt a toddler or younger kid. Babies scare me (too fragile).

 

[chula505]

Both parents worked. My mom's a principal and my dad's an engineering doing research at a national labs. Mom had off during the summers, so that was good. Mostly, though, i went to daycare or did afterschool activities. I'm an only child and I feel really close to my parents. They were really good at taking the time we had together and making it worthwhile. We always had dinner together and hung out together on the weekends.

 

[Kristiyana]

Both of my parents worked multiple jobs simultaneously when my sister and I were children (mainly because we had just immigrated from Europe and were dirt poor with no one around to help). Sometimes I kind of feel like I raised myself because my parents weren't home very often (and still aren't), and my sister was always out somewhere (and still is). I definitely want to spend more time with my family (when I have one 😉), but at the same time, I want to have my own career (and I want my husband to have one also) ... so yeah ... 🙂

 

[shortyganoush]

Both my parents worked full time basically as psychologists, but my mom was actually the breadwinner. They both served as great role models for me although not exactly in profession

 

[NapeSpikes]

Why is one of the poll options in italics?

 

[jebus]

Why is one of the poll options in italics?

that's the right answer.

 

[IHaveLab]

Why is one of the poll options in italics?

Once you answer, the selection you chose appears in italics only to you when you are logged in under your user id.

 

[NapeSpikes]

😱 I never knew.

 

[Tristy]

When me and my brother were little my mom stayed at home most of the time, and my dad worked full-time. I am fortunate that I didn't have to go to daycare, but it may have been the fact that they owned their own business and they both taught (my dad was an engineer and my mom a mathematician, yuck! ). I wish that I could do what they did in terms of raising children, but since I don't want any I will not loose any sleep thinking about it 🙄

 

[Medic_9]

Both my parents worked full time until I was 9. At that point they both retired and we moved from a big city to a smaller town (safer). When I was young I had a nanny, and when I started school I went to day care at about 7am, went to school then they picked me up around 5-6pm.

I have a very good relationship with my family so this in no way effected me. I would probably do the same if I had kids (if I could afford it).

P.S. I'm also an only child - in case that makes a difference.

 

[PariPari]

My Mom worked like 10 years before she had kids, & once we were in school she did part-time work. My dad's always worked more than full-time. I hated it when I was little b/c I was always told the reason he couldn't make was he was working so we could afford to do all these stupid extra curricular activities.

 

[lookslikerain]

My dad has always worked full time as an organic chem professor. My mother didn't start working full time until I was in sixth grade, though she held odd jobs off and on before that. They raised me the only way they could, given that we have never lived anywhere remotely near our extended family and that we were never all that well off. I kind of go back and forth on how much time I want to devote to raising my kids, if I even have them. I want the best of both worlds but this is usually a situation where you have to sacrifice one or the other, if you're a physician.

 

[Writer1985]

When my mom first came here, she didn't work (my dad was working; my mom hated her previous job; and they didn't need the money), but then she "got bored" and got a green card and a job. My brother and I were both born before the federally-mandated maternity leave laws, so I think she had to use her annual sick leave for that or something. My grandparents lived with us part of the year, to help take care of me/my brother, so that definitely helped. Honestly, I don't know how my parents would have done it without both of them working, especially things like saving for college tuition.

I was in a daycare run by my parents' employer, and then in the after-school program in elementary school, which was pretty much daycare part II with movies and field trips -- almost all my friends were in the program and it was great fun. People who assume that daycare kids are automatically problem kids really bug me. 😡

I plan to work full-time when I have kids -- there's no way I'm going through 8 years of Very Expensive Education + 3 of Grueling Residency to sit at home and fold socks. (I could see myself loving it when the kids are little, but once they go to school, what would you do ALL DAY?) I also intend to have my parents live with us/nearby, because I definitely think I will need tips on how to raise a kid. 🙂

 

[BooMed]

My mom was a single parent, and we were pretty much on our own. For the beginning of my life she worked as a maid, in a factory and sewing kids clothes. Later she went to school to become a massage therapist, which was nice because then she could schedule her hours to be able to drive me to school. I still spent a lot of time home alone and at my friend's houses though.

I'm not sorry about my upbringing becuase it inspired me to work really hard in school so I could go to college and get scholarships and stuff, but I don't want my kids to have to worry about money as much as I did.

I don't ever want to work full time, but I don't want to not work either. I think I would be bored, plus my fiance wants to spend time with our kids too.

 

[Beau Geste]

My dad is a CRNA, and my mom went back to school when I was in 1st grade, eventually going to med school while I was in middle school and residency while I was in high school.

We were definitley "latch key" kids, but overall we were raised to be resourceful, independent, self-sufficient people. I have no regrets.