In a heterosexual committed (married) relationship, could the man stay @ home to care for the children?

Question

In other words, does it matter which parent stays at home to raise and/or care for the child (children) while the other works? Are there any psychological, moral, or philosophical reasons that the traditional roles are better or irrelevant?

Answer 1

I'm the 'primary caregiver' for these 2 yr. old twins, -and I'm as nutz as any woman!!!

..ty.

Answer 2

my husband stayed home for 2 years with our first daughter, because at the time i was capable of making more money than he was. she is definately a daddys girl though. i think the traditional roles are irrelevant in this case as long as he is a good parent and the both of you have the same views on how a child should be raised and or punished. jeff and i have agreed on everything so far. but the cost of living goes up, so he has been working for the last couple of years and now he makes more than i do but we are buying a bigger home and he is trading in his camaro for a blazer because we are having another baby. you will also save alot on childcare. some people don't think it is right, but if the shoe fits wear it. its nice coming home and not having to do all the cooking and cleaning. aside from being the bread winner you will feel very pampered. enjoy it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

At the moment we are fortunate enough to both be at home with our two young boys, 1 and 2 1/2, we also have our oldest who is 7 and comes to stay for visits, but lives with his mum. I do some work from home via my pc and we share the responsibilities, my children are so lucky to have their Dad be such a big part of their lives, and they are flourishing. If i had the desire i would be happy to be the working mum and our kids would only benefit from what their Dad can give them(and does, daily). I beleive there is no right or wrong part for either Mum or Dad to take, Both influences are so important, and it's really awsome now begining to see Dad's 'Allowed' to spend more time with their kids, and get the joy's alot of fathers have missed out on - The sex of the at home parent is irrelevant, it is the priorities of us as Mum's and Dad's that will make the difference.

Answer 4

nope, it doesn't matter which parent stays at home to raise and/or care for the child (children) while the other works. i don't think there are any psychological, moral, or philosophical reasons that the traditional roles are better or irrelevant.

Answer 5

As long as he can do the job just as well or better than the woman yes it's fine. I do know of situations where men wanted to be Mr. Mom/House Husbands because they thought it would be easy and knew they could get over on the woman. Like she would come home from a hard day's work to a dirty house, stacked up laundry, kids sugared up b/c dad was watching TV and didn't bother to get them a healthy snack and then on top of all of that she has to order a pizza b/c opps Dad also didn't cook! I've seen this happen to a few women. So I think ppl should be really clear as to what the expectations are.

Answer 6

I live in a fairly well to do community, and my next door neighbors are in that situation where the wife has a great executive job and her husband is "Mr. Mom". It seems to work well, he watches the kids and tinkers with projects around the house. The downside is the gossip in the community is awful and you can tell he feels self conscious about his role. Also it seems like he has a hard time making friends, since most of the people he can meet during the day are the neighborhood stay at home moms, so that seems to be pretty awkward for him.

Answer 7

sure you can MR. MOM but then she takes the male role in society and you become less of a man in the family. she is the bread maker so to speak since you're the new mommy. see in a marriage the man has a responsiblity to the family and that responsibility is to bring home the bread if you know what i mean. the man feels an achievement because he makes the money his decisions, whatever he says stands. your typical american family. now when the woman is the "man" in the family her money she makes the decisions and you must go along with them or else you my friend will get the " i'm working all day doing what you should be doing" speech. the male role has always been the caretaker and in the family the caretaker is the money maker. the man is the money maker the woman can work but woman is the children take care of er type of thing.

Answer 8

Yes it does. There were studies done a few years ago and women are definitely better at staying home and taking care of kids then men. It's not that men can't do the job, it's just that the little kiddie's brains are hardwired in favor of a constant maternal presence, 24/7. Guys just can't provide that. And it seems that stay-at-home husband/fathers who are supported by the income of their wife suffer loss of marital status. In that arrangement, the marriage bond is considerably more strained than man working, woman at home. Women executives are far more likely to screw around in their marriage than their male counterparts. Bottom line, the bond that is established from the womb between mother and child must be retained intact through adolescence. It's the way things were meant to be. Don't mess with nature!

Answer 9

OF COURSE, the man can stay at home and care for the children. Regardless of gender, both parents can be good caretakers. Gender has nothing to do with it. There are a lot of "traditional" things that we now know are unhealthy and irrevelant, traditional gender roles being one of them. If one parent is going to stay at home with the children it should be the parent that is best suited to do that, mom or dad.

Answer 10

Well, in certain religions I suppose there is some kind of shame on this, but in the regular world, yes. We are not living in the dark ages anymore. A man and a woman are equal and it doesn't matter which one stays home with the kids. It doesn't lower your manliness level or make you any less of a man. Don't think that just because you're male you have to bring home the bacon while the woman stays in the kitchen all day. 21st century...

Answer 11

Its completely up to you, and how you want to raise your kids. You can raise your kids in a healthy environment with the man staying at home, and the mom working, easily. Make sure that each parent spends time with the kids, as well as the whole family. That is the major loss in some families, when mom goes to work, she often comes home tired, and not having an energy with the kids, though she might wish she did. Just don't overwork yourself to the point you don't have time for family.