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This is something that child-free people fail to understand. It's not just about priorities and "scheduling time" to be a parent. That would be great but it's a
by perrygeo 3y ago
This is something that child-free people fail to understand. It's not just about priorities and "scheduling time" to be a parent. That would be great but it's a fantasy. Reality is being on-call 24/7 to deal with the dozens of logistical problems that come up. It's not just the number of hours but their distribution across the day, the fact that you've got to coordinate 2 work schedules + n children's calendars, and the fact that parents largely don't have any control over the agenda.
Does this impact parent's earning potential? Absolutely. I cannot find a single day on my calendar where my wife and I had an solid block of 8 hours to focus on work. It just doesn't happen. Thankfully I have flexible work hours otherwise it would be literally impossible. As it stands, it's merely exhausting and unsustainable.
- hyperbovine 3y agoThat has always been true in some form or fashion though, what you are describing is not a uniquely modern problem. To me the x-factor that makes child rearing especially challenging is lack of a support network. Mobility has made it routine to live hundreds or thousands of miles from your family in a way that did not happen before fairly recently. For most of us, our network consists only of other couples with young children who are all going through the same thing.
- dalyons 3y agoAlso, the modern problem of both parents being forced to work. Previously one would stay home. The two income trap is real.
- jen20 3y agoIt's not a "trap" if it's the only way to buy a house and avoid falling into the renting "trap" instead...
- dalyons 3y agoi think you should look up the phrase, because thats exactly what it refers to. That we need two full time incomes to afford a house is a new thing, and is the "trap" we have built for ourselves.