Retro Housewife no longer necessary in today's society

Retro Housewife no longer necessary in today's society

Dear visitors,

I felt I needed to comment on this email that was sent in by a visitor to retrohousewife.com, especially the comment about "Go out and get a real job". This retro housewife maintains that running a household and being the primary caregiver of the children is a "real job", and is in fact, one of the most important ones around.

Liberation and voting have little to do with it; I do not equate being a housewife with any sort of oppression or bondage, and I always vote. Somewhere along the line, society did start to view the profession "Housewife" in this light, which to me is the ultimate in chauvinism. Because the role of keeping house and raising children is traditionally a woman's job, it is somehow of no value?

As for sitting around watching Oprah, or not knowing how to cook or clean, allow me to point out that there are members of every profession who are not quite as competent as they should be. Shall we do away with all waiters if one happens to spill a drink on a customer?

Also, "Wanting to spend quality time with the children" is a curious concept that has become the mantra of many these days, as if it were some sort of evidence of one's own virtue. The phrase is bandied about much the same way one talks about taking up painting to enrich one's mind.

I've got news for you folks, raising children is not about spending quality time with them. It is about living up to your responsibility to mold the little ones that you placed on this earth into quality human beings who will add to society or at the least not harm it.

Much of the time it ain't pretty, and it is not about sitting around reading moralizing, preachy stories to them for a half an hour before bed time. Fact is, when you take on too much, something always comes up short. Your kids will be just fine without the Starbucks crowd's version of quality time. They may not be fine without someone who has the time and energy to instill discipline and ethics into often unwilling participants.

Beating a child into submission is not raising a child, whether or not you remember the "lesson". It is the act of an unskilled and frustrated parent, and not at all useful in today's society. (How often does a boss pummel an employee who takes a questionable sick day?).

Yes, you may have more money with two incomes (although I do not necessarily agree with this, but that will be another blog), but if your personal balance sheet is what is important to you, why have the children in the first place?

RH