From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!npois!houxm!houxa!houxb!houxq!houxo!wakeup
Newsgroups: net.women
Title: Re: re: children
Article-I.D.: houxo.145
Posted: Thu Jan 27 11:53:42 1983
Received: Sun Jan 30 05:43:47 1983
References: utcsrgv.928

I too like the idea of men staying at home and the women working, possibly
on an alternating basis. I do feel it is impracticle. I can see myself
in a job interview after staying at home for 3 years:
"What have you been doing for this three year gap in work?"
"Well, I have been at home watching my children grow, doing house work and
supporting my wife in her career."
"What about YOUR career? Are you going to quit after 3 years here so your
wife can work again?"
"Well....."
I think that assuming you are not physically moving about that you will
soon run out of possible employers after a couple of rounds of job alternation.
This assumes that the kind of job you are looking for demands a certain skill
or education. And if it does how are you going to stay uptodate during
your off times.
I prefer to go the parttime route. Let both parents work about 3 days(hopefully
the same three days). this leaves 4 days per week you can be together as a
family, have time to counteract the bad influences the child experiences
at daycare or babysitters, have time to do the house work, and maybe have
time to do special activites most parents do not have time for such as trips,
both educational and for fun.(WOW, that was some run on sentence, sorry.)
The basic problem with this idea is still the over importance employers 
place in career minded people. As an emgineer I do not see any employer 
letting me work parttime for an extended period of time especially since
I am a male.I asked for such a plan once and got a resounding NO WAY.
Even my wife who works got the same reply. Companies feel that work and career
are the only thing which should be of importance to a person. If a career is
not imortant than either work somewhere else or don't work at all. This I
feel is a very poor attitude. Many people want more than work in their life.
Also many people have talents and skills to offer the companies, and at
the same time want an escape form home to maintain sanity and want to work
for that type of fulfillment. I feel companies should be more flexible to
people's needs in this area.