From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!floyd!rjs
Newsgroups: net.women
Title: A way to be working parents
Article-I.D.: floyd.1124
Posted: Thu Jan 27 13:00:29 1983
Received: Sun Jan 30 09:40:50 1983

One method of raising children so that they get the benefit of constant
attention (or at least supervision), and you get the benefit of two
incomes is to try what I shall loosely term communal living.  If three
couples got together, they could afford to buy or rent a very large
house (much more common on the east coast, but I believe available
just about anywhere close to a large city in the U.S.).  Now all they
have to do is arrange so that each is off work a different day of the
week, and the left over day (most likely Sunday), everyone should be
off.  Thus each parent has one day a week when he or she is responsible
for the entire population of children in the house, and there is one
day each week available for group outings, family get togethers, or
whatever.  This type of arrangement has a lot of financial advantages,
you have one household (admittedly large) with 6 incomes, there's
probably a ready made car pool, and its easy to find a babysitter
for those evening outings with your spouse.

If each couple has the average 2.2 to 2.4 children, that's 6.6 to 7.2
children each person has to deal with one day a week, and share one
day a week.  This is probably less difficult than taking care of 2
children 7 days a week.  Its also probably good for the children
(at least it prepares them for dealing with a variety of people
when they go out into the wide world, and when they start up a
commune to raise their children).

This type of arrangement requires an ability to get along well with
people on a day to day basis, but many couples who are just starting
out have just recently finished college (or are still in school) and
have their "living-in-a-dorm" experience fresh in their minds.  The
interpersonal skills learned in a dorm setting are probably useful
here, and the house provides a much nicer environment than a dorm.

Each person must be able to work a strange (by today's standards)
schedule, but if this becomes popular, more and more employers
will start accepting it.  Obviously, this doesn't help travelling
sales representatives (but I'll bet someone else on the net can
come up with something), but it's certainly a viable alternative
for many couples who want children, but also want the luxury (necessity?)
of two jobs.

Although currently out of vogue in America, this style of living
has considerable precedent, although the couples involved were
usually somehow related.  Sure it means giving up a lot of privacy,
but so does having children in the first place.  I suspect that
people who would make good parents, in general, would not have
too much difficulty making the adjustment.

So there you have it, another vaguely thought out (and probably not
very original) idea from yours truely,

	Robert Snyder
	floyd!rjs