I know a lot of men don't want to get married anymore, but for those who do want to get married and have kids, assuming you could afford it, would you prefer your wife work and put your kids in daycare, or stay home full time to care for the kids and make your house a home and a nice place for you and your kids to come home to?
Personally, my mind has changed on this issue in recent years. I used to think it was crazy not to have both spouses working and bringing in an income. But I've seen too many examples of the differences and how much better off everyone (mostly the children) can be when they have a mother at home with them. I've seen how much more advanced, well adjusted and emotionally healthy children are when their mother devotes so much time to them. I've seen how much less stress there is in the household when both parents don't work AND try to get everything else done after a long workday. I've also seen how kids, and their parents, don't get sick as often when they are not in daycare every day.
I realize it's not possible for everyone, but I think it's worth the sacrifice if I can manage it.
What are your thoughts?
What Girls & Guys Said
Opinion
2Opinion
someone should stay at home and raise the kids rather than have strange nannies or strangers at child care centers. if it wasn't the taboo that stay at home dads get, a lot of men wouldn't mind staying home except they are constantly shamed by the public as leeches and sooner or later, even the wife starts to resent him. a man resenting his stay at home wife rarely ever happens. only feminists shame stay at home moms
I voted A. It's obviously best for the children to have a parent home with them full time. That can be a mother or a father, but it's usually the mother who wants to more than the father. Mothers also give something most fathers are not capable of, especially when the child is really young. Fathers are equally important too, but in different ways.
I don't think I would ever want to have children with a woman who didn't want to be a real mother to her children if she could.
Why can’t the man stay at home and the woman be the breadwinner
Nothing wrong with that if it works for both partners, and it's actually fairly common today, or at least more so than in the past.
However, studies show that if one parent is going to stay home and one is going to be the bread winner, it's far more likely that the mother will want to be the one who is home with the kids, and the father will want to be the breadwinner. It's also a fact that mothers are more likely to give a child, especially a young one, the level of emotional support they need. Some fathers are able to, but it doesn't come naturally to most the way it does to mothers.
But regardless, that's not what this question was about. It was specifically targeted at men and their preferences. I personally could never be a stay at home father, and most men would say the same. And given that a majority of women with children under age 18 prefer to be a SAH mom over working outside the home, I'm confident I can find one as long as I'm able to support us financially.
My boyfriend has said before he’s love to be a stay at home dad if financially possible. I’m the one in college, so what makes the most sense in situations like this where I might be possibly making more money?
Only you and your boyfriend can decide what makes most sense for you. As I said, there is nothing wrong with him being a SAH dad and you working, if it works for you.
But again, that was not the purpose of this question. I was asking guys what their preference is. According to the poll, 100% of them prefer to work while their wife stays home tending to the children and homemaking. And studies show that a majority of mothers with children under age 18 prefer it that way as well.
While men (and women) have been largely forced into a two income model for economic reasons, it will never be the preference of most to put their children in daycare. And in cases where a couple can afford to have one parent home with the children, the majority of both men and women will want that to be the mother, for a lot of reasons.