Comments on: Back to Balance http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152 Fri, 02 Sep 2011 20:31:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: librarybob http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152&cpage=1#comment-376 librarybob Sat, 05 May 2007 12:19:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152#comment-376 Better to lobby, I think, for universal quality day care. <br/><br/>I'm male and my kids are now in their teens, but as my wife also works full time or better (only sometimes from home) there are still times when I'll be the one who stays home with a sick kid. <br/><br/>When I took a new job three or so years ago part of the calculation was that the kids were finally old enough not to need me ASAP. Better to lobby, I think, for universal quality day care.

I’m male and my kids are now in their teens, but as my wife also works full time or better (only sometimes from home) there are still times when I’ll be the one who stays home with a sick kid.

When I took a new job three or so years ago part of the calculation was that the kids were finally old enough not to need me ASAP.

]]> By: Dorothea http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152&cpage=1#comment-375 Dorothea Tue, 01 May 2007 11:04:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152#comment-375 Julian? Why does it matter what society thinks?<br/><br/>My husband isn't gainfully employed. I am sole breadwinner. I will pretty much always remain main breadwinner, barring the somewhat outre possibility that my household suddenly becomes the Twilight Zone.<br/><br/>Societal disapproval hasn't killed him yet that I've noticed. Nor me, though I do get crap about it now and then.<br/><br/>As for your income being required... lobby against pay disparities for women, and glass ceilings. Julian? Why does it matter what society thinks?

My husband isn’t gainfully employed. I am sole breadwinner. I will pretty much always remain main breadwinner, barring the somewhat outre possibility that my household suddenly becomes the Twilight Zone.

Societal disapproval hasn’t killed him yet that I’ve noticed. Nor me, though I do get crap about it now and then.

As for your income being required… lobby against pay disparities for women, and glass ceilings.

]]> By: Marcy http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152&cpage=1#comment-374 Marcy Mon, 30 Apr 2007 23:53:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152#comment-374 Even if you are a parent who isn't interested in a *career* as a long-term goal, I still think that you need to have long term goals that take into account financial and material needs as well as emotional and relationship ones. This is particularly true if one's spouse is significantly older. My husband is 18+ years older than I am. This has enabled me to have wonderful options and choices, because he is well established in his career and gets great family benefits. So all is well, right? Until you remember that he'll be retiring at least 15 years before me, and whether he use a retiree health plan or Medicare you can be darned sure that neither I nor our son will qualify for either of those! Not everyone will be in that situation, but there are a myriad of other possibilities: the primary working spouse becomes disabled; the primary working spouse decides his/her purpose in life is to go to divinity school; your sister is killed in a wreck and you're suddenly raising three extra kids; insert life changing event here. To pretend that those of us who are the primary caretakers of our children don't need our own plans and goals for the future is naive at best, and disastrous at worst. Even if you are a parent who isn’t interested in a *career* as a long-term goal, I still think that you need to have long term goals that take into account financial and material needs as well as emotional and relationship ones. This is particularly true if one’s spouse is significantly older. My husband is 18+ years older than I am. This has enabled me to have wonderful options and choices, because he is well established in his career and gets great family benefits. So all is well, right? Until you remember that he’ll be retiring at least 15 years before me, and whether he use a retiree health plan or Medicare you can be darned sure that neither I nor our son will qualify for either of those! Not everyone will be in that situation, but there are a myriad of other possibilities: the primary working spouse becomes disabled; the primary working spouse decides his/her purpose in life is to go to divinity school; your sister is killed in a wreck and you’re suddenly raising three extra kids; insert life changing event here. To pretend that those of us who are the primary caretakers of our children don’t need our own plans and goals for the future is naive at best, and disastrous at worst.

]]> By: Julian http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152&cpage=1#comment-373 Julian Mon, 30 Apr 2007 19:56:00 +0000 http://www.lisjobs.com/blog/?p=152#comment-373 It's killing me that I have to self-censor myself on this very touchy subject. I'll summarize my thoughts as best as I can. Our society doesn't allow me to have options based on something totally beyond my control. In addition, not everyone in librarianship is in a situation where there are options. Many are; I'm not. Even if my income were not required for my household to survive, it would be socially unacceptable for me to choose not to be gainfully employed <b>for any reason</b>. It’s killing me that I have to self-censor myself on this very touchy subject. I’ll summarize my thoughts as best as I can. Our society doesn’t allow me to have options based on something totally beyond my control. In addition, not everyone in librarianship is in a situation where there are options. Many are; I’m not. Even if my income were not required for my household to survive, it would be socially unacceptable for me to choose not to be gainfully employed for any reason.

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