ANSWERS: 39
  • no i believe that whatever the couple are happy with is the right thing to do. I see no reason why any parent needs to stay at home, they can both work if they can afford child care. its whatever they feel comfortable with that matters
  • Not at all, thats removing the whole equality thing! Both man and woman should work. If one needs to stay home then it should be the person earning the less.
  • I believe the man should be the main breadwinner in the relationship. I see nothing wrong however with a woman working if she chooses to. I can understand their need to want to work even. I have a close friend who has always worked even through her 3 pregnancies. I asked her once why she does it. Her boyfriend makes a substantial income to more than support their lifestyle. He answer was that she doesn't want to have to ask permission everytime she wants to spend money on herself.
  • Hell ya! Now get the laundry done women!
  • No, I don't. If they can work out a mutually agreeable and equitable relationship with that division of labor, then more power to them. I certainly don't think that anyone should do anything. I don't know that I would ever do this. It would take a lot of trust in the man. Historically speaking, and as evidenced in my own family, concentrating economic power in one individual leads to inequality in the relationship. This is not something I would ever tolerate.
  • Definitely yes, unless the wife earns more or has a better job, then she should work while the hubby stays home and looks after the kids. Years ago double income families could use the extra money to pay off their houses real quick. But now they have just pushed up the price of housing to the point where it is unaffordable to singles and so the double income is necessary. For example, where I live the cheapest place to buy in the cheapest suburb would take half of my wage in repayments. For a low income earner it would take all of his wage. (I don't know how they survive). In short, the price of houses have increased by the equivalent of one wage so the second worker is working for nothing and single income earners are practically priced out of the market. How handy! Most family people I know would rather spend more time watching their children grow up. I know of very few jobs that really are more rewarding than anything else you could do with the time. I have met many people stuck in horrible jobs struggling to make ends meet. If that's the case, it's better to be one struggler and one home-keeper than two strugglers. Child-rearing and House-keeping are highly specialised skills. Given time, an expert will learn many valuable tricks and strategies that leave us amateurs for dead - but you need that time. Relying on a double income can cause bankruptcy if one person loses their job for any length of time. A single income family has the added insurance of a potential extra breadwinner. Check out http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3079221/ In short, traditional families of old would laugh at our foolishness. We are just as poor as we always were but now our wives are spending countless hours helping someone else get richer instead of enriching our own homes.
  • I've never been in a situation where that was the case, and I was married for almost five years....I was always the primary bbreadwinner in my household, and my husband would go through spurts of staying home and working. It worked for us at the time. I've never lived in a house where that was the situation either - growing up, both parents worked. I've got friends who do stay home while their husband works and it works for them, that's what they wanted to do...I'd have to say that it really depends on the couple and what their situation is. Personally, I feel that both parties should provide income and take care of the kids as equally as possible.
  • Everyone should live by themselves and earn their own money and do their own housework until they figure out what a husband / wife is good for. With any luck they'll decide that specialisation is the answer.
  • Most women I know love shopping, even for the most mundane items. Most women I know will happily classify recipes, grocery lists and shopping lists as 'conversation' while I find it painfully, tearfully boring. Most women I know have a natural urge to clean their house at least once a month. Should we fight their urges or put them to good use? If we use them, should we let them stay out of the workforce as a fair exchange? By the way, I live by myself and do my own house keeping.
  • Nope. In my household, I have the full-time job and my boyfriend/partner stays home and works freelance design gigs. He takes care of the house, I run the errands. I hate housework; he enjoys it. I am messy; he is neat. He likes to stay home; I like to be out and about. I earn the steady paycheck; he has more time to maintain the garden. He cooks; I get takeout. So he's basically the "homemaker" role and I'm basically the "breadwinner" role - because we are both happier this way. I can't imagine trying to stuff ourselves into a traditional marriage situation. I don't think our relationship could survive that way, neither of us would be happy. People should do what works for them and their relationship.
  • There is no "should." This is something that couples decide jointly.
  • I believe it should be that way if the husband is able to earn enough to cover all the bills and that sort of thing. If he isn't able to the wife should go out and help her husband out by getting a job. In this day and age not too many households can be supported by only one income.
  • i believe that is between the spouses. Alot more women are working today than ever before
  • Yes....no matter how hard it is the husband should have to pay all the bills. My wife stays home and I sometimes work two jobs to get by. I also believe that if the wife likes to use credit cards its ok...its her perogitive. Its the husbands job to pay them. Men today have gotten to spoiled. Wives need to put theyre foot down and refuse to work outside the home unless they want to. Trouble is many wives today disagree with this.
  • No, I believe that people, women or man should work and provide income for me to spend on stuff that I want since I'm hot and shouldn't have to work. I mean, come on, I'm pretty.
  • well i do
  • he should at least clean up after him self.
  • Hubby and I are a team. He's not one of those people that think it is my "duty" to take care of the house. (If he was, he's be over the balcony...hehe) This is my choice. I love him. In my case, nope, he shouldn't be required to do the chores. He works hard enough.
  • I think its a great thing. Lots of men love their wife minding the home and getting it all ready for her man when he comes home after a hard days work. I love doing the homemaking and shopping and getting a nice dinner ready for him. Preparing a sanctuary for him and I so we can enjoy. It is up to the individual couple. My son and his wife both play mr. and mrs. mom and share the working and taking care of the kids. It works for them. Its up to the couple.
  • I think that it's ideal for children AND spouse if one spouse can stay home with the children and take the every day stress off the other spouse. It doesn't have to be the wife. I've known families where the husband stays home and is a "house-husband" and does a fine job too. Not everyone can afford to do this, but if they can, it seems to be wonderful for the whole family.
  • in practice this doesn't happen quite so often, but chores should be shared equally, with a few exceptions... if one works significantly more than the other, he obviously should not have to do a s much work. if someone cannot perform certain jobs for lack of physical, medical requirements or knowledge (for example my mother doesn't know how to treat and feed our dogs properly, so my father does all the pet-related chores, and my father is very sensitive to strong smells, so only my mother does chores requiring ammonia)... once you have those ground-rules, i guess every couple should fit the chores into their specific circumstances.
  • Household chores are a FAMILY responsibility, commensurate with the other duties and responsibilities of the individual. For example, if the wife is a stay-at-home-Mom, then by default the majority of household chores fall under her perview. This means she MANAGES the household to ensure everything gets done. (Note, I didn't say she DOES all the chores.) If both parents work, then they must BOTH come to another agreement on HOW things are to get done. This is because the old 'traditional' role of one parent providing the income/support for the family while the other manages the household can't be done. The household is, above all, FAMILY. One family, one house, one home. EVERYBODY contributes to it in some fashion. Kids not only clean their rooms, but have other chores commensurate with their abilities, age, and inclinations. This is how they learn how to care for their own house in the future and if they don't learn now...well, you can see where this path will lead. My wife is a stay-at-home-Mommy by choice and she has a BOATLOAD of things she handles, both while the kids are home and during school hours. It's no skin off my back to wash/dry/fold clothes, clean the bathroom, cook, or wash dishes in addition to whatever else needs to be done in order to help her out. As long as BOTH people are working as a TEAM to do what has to be done, then how much any one person does doesn't matter.
  • In my house it's both, and I'm the only one that "works" outside the home. But she is a stay-at-home mom, so she also works.
  • A household works best when everyone contributes.
  • We are both so busy that it's whoever has a few hours in between to do it.
  • If they can afford it, they hire someone to clean for 2 hours on a Saturday. Everyone's happier :D
  • Both should contribute. There are things to be done inside and outside. I do the inside "housework" and he does all of the outside upkeep. Works out fair for us.
  • Both... Even if you can't do some things, like me (I can't stand for any length of time, or get my wheelchair into certain areas), I can do dishes, clean the cat litter, gather the trash, etc. Lucky for me, she's more of a "neat freak" than me, and knows it. She will clean even when she's tired, and there's not that much to do. (For example, she'll wash the dishes, even if there's only three bowls, a little silverware, and couple of cups/glasses, and I would wait until supper dishes are included.)
  • I think this is pretty self evident. BOTH. The thing I still hate to see is families where the boys do the "guy" stuff, like picking up dog doo, mowing the lawn and setting out the trash; the girls do the cleaning, cooking, etc. I think that prepares kids to be dependent upon others in their adult life.
  • in MY case? yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • If you can do it financially, it's great. But it doesn't work for everyone. If you both have to work to make ends meet, then you had better make some compromises around the house. I think my kids have been far better off being raised by their mother than they would have been in daycare.
  • I think someone needs to work and someone needs to raise the kids. I don't really care which one does which.
  • I believe that there is nothing wrong with that. I don't see anything wrong with both the husband and the wife working, either, though, as long as they still see each other and still both take care of the house and have time for their children if they have any.
  • I was raised that way.But my husband and I talked about it we agree that when we have children if become an issue that he will stay home with the kids.Because I believe my husband should most of the discipline.
  • Not everyone has/wants kids but I believe it's both of their responsibility to work and maintain their home.
  • Whatever works for the husband and wife involved should be what happens.
  • No, they should both go out there and work.
  • Yes I believe, It's very common in India that husbands are providing to their families, but I don't know about in here. In India, in every families, husbands are the one provide everything to their families and of course their wives are taking care of the house chores, kids, even some wives are working(jobs) in and out too and taking care of other things too. In some families, husbands and wives both are having decent jobs and getting good salaries and taking care the house things. But now, because of bad economy, it's better to work both and share everythings I think.
  • Nah I don't think there is a set way this should work. I think it just depends on each couple. Some may find it easier to have the mum work and the dad stay home. Or the other way around. +5

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