Thursday, February 14, 2008

Discussing the debate

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 5:40 AM
One reason there is such a debate around the stay-at-home/go-to-work issue is that we all want to believe that we are making the best decisions for our family. When we make a major decision such as this, we want reassurance that it’s the best decision. Somewhere in our subconscious we believe that since our decision is the best for us, it must be the best decision for everyone. Out of all of the books I’ve read on either choosing to stay at home or choosing to stay at work, all of them have tried to justify why each choice is the right thing to do. Most of the books are geared to women who have made a particular choice and aim to reinforce the decision made, encourage women in that decision, and give them tools to make it work. These books are very helpful in giving women support that is helpful in the challenges that come with either staying at home or staying at work.
For some reason, however, there is tension between the two groups. Somehow the encouragement and support for making the choice has become a debate. There has even recently been a book published that admonished that all women should work, and if they don’t they are doing a discredit to themselves and their children. My stand on the issue is that there should be no debate. There’s no possible way that all women can work. There just aren’t enough jobs out there. Not to mention that many women would be miserable and more stressed trying to balance work and raising children when their heart is not in it. Nor could our economy handle it if all women chose to stay home. We’re a huge part of the workforce. Not to mention that many women would be miserable at home, and some families would collapse under financial debt if there wasn’t a second income. It’s not always necessary, but our economy requires in many families that there be two incomes just to survive.

0 comments on "Discussing the debate"

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Discussing the debate

One reason there is such a debate around the stay-at-home/go-to-work issue is that we all want to believe that we are making the best decisions for our family. When we make a major decision such as this, we want reassurance that it’s the best decision. Somewhere in our subconscious we believe that since our decision is the best for us, it must be the best decision for everyone. Out of all of the books I’ve read on either choosing to stay at home or choosing to stay at work, all of them have tried to justify why each choice is the right thing to do. Most of the books are geared to women who have made a particular choice and aim to reinforce the decision made, encourage women in that decision, and give them tools to make it work. These books are very helpful in giving women support that is helpful in the challenges that come with either staying at home or staying at work.
For some reason, however, there is tension between the two groups. Somehow the encouragement and support for making the choice has become a debate. There has even recently been a book published that admonished that all women should work, and if they don’t they are doing a discredit to themselves and their children. My stand on the issue is that there should be no debate. There’s no possible way that all women can work. There just aren’t enough jobs out there. Not to mention that many women would be miserable and more stressed trying to balance work and raising children when their heart is not in it. Nor could our economy handle it if all women chose to stay home. We’re a huge part of the workforce. Not to mention that many women would be miserable at home, and some families would collapse under financial debt if there wasn’t a second income. It’s not always necessary, but our economy requires in many families that there be two incomes just to survive.

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