I am the main carer for my kids as my wife earns much more than me and loves her career.
The assumption always was that as soon as the youngest started school I'd go back to full time employment and get back into a 'career' and the kids would go into morning and afternoon childcare.
Started a new surveying job last week and have just resigned. I can't work in a formal capacity any more. I just take the piss, have no work ethic and will take liberties whenever I can. So I'll just carry on driving a cab a couple of nights a week and being 'mr mum'.
Ive just resigned to the fact I'll never be rich or drive nice cars ever again.
Funny thing is the wife wanted me to quit more than me as she found she couldn't be tthere for her work as she always had been.
So its a life of cooking and cleaning and being a housewife (with some part time work thrown in for me) which I much prefer tbh than going out and working.
Anyone else in this position? I know when women do it no one bats an eyelid.
All my university years seem wasted now.
Though at least there are no more barriers to getting a dog!
Anyone else perform the 'female' role in their house
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It doesn't matter what other people do or think............................you big sissy.
I must admit, I thought this was going to be a "special interest" thread.
Its in marks as it is [i]ironic[/I]..
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Right, I'm off to do the school run...
If I post a vid or pic of what I was thinking, the ban hammer would be very busy.
Imagine what this title would have been about on mumsnet.
I think you need a full time job to qualify for that role, and you still have to do the cooking, cleaning, etc. What do you think this is, the 1960s?
Well Binners makes my tea and pack lunches. God knows what he does when I'm gone, gossip?
Imagine what this title would have been about on mumsnet.
The OP pegging
the washing on the line, perhaps?
Me me me! For the lat year and a half! I took voluntary redundancy! I struggled to get a new job so my wife who out earns me suggested I take advantage of the opportunity to spend some time with the kids. Our boys started school in September so I am officially started looking for work again! I have had two telephone interviews this week. So my being a kept man might be coming to an end.
It's been great apart from the damage being the full time carer to twin 5 year old boys is doing to my mental health!!
I just take the piss, have no work ethic and will take liberties whenever I can.
You have spent too much time on STW,switch off the internet,[b]NOW[/b]
HTH
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Are you posting from the past?
which I much prefer tbh
the wife wanted me to quit
I'd say the two people who matter most in the arrangement are up for it. Don't knock yourself about what anyone else thinks.
And anyone who thinks looking after your family is 'unmanly' needs to take a long hard look at their priorities.
On the other hand, can you just confirm my suspicions that the housework takes about half an hour after the kids go to school and you swan around for 6 hours till they get home? ๐
I just take the piss, have no work ethic and will take liberties whenever I can.
Sounds like you are perfectly qualified to be an MP or work for London underground ๐
I just take the piss, have no work ethic and will take liberties whenever I can.
Are you me? Certainly sounds like it.
I'm quite concerned you consider these character traits so negatively
I have a friend not unlike the OP.
However one *major difference* is that she is a selfish career-minded person, bumping her boss, trading in her family car for a two-seater and he also works full time, does a bit of caring for their lovely kid (civil service so more flexible hours) then spends most of his time at football, with his mates or on 'work trips' to London with female work colleagues that he boasts about on Facebook - they are thinly-disguised as genuine work trips but with glaring suggestions he is shagging around as much as she is.
Really sad.
Think how much biking you'll be free to do
I could get you a job at my place, sounds like you'd fit right in.
Only trait you're missing is a cynicism, but that comes with time ๐
I'm working from home, on a conference call...
Good on you Op.
I've been doing it for nearly four weeks and I've slowly handing the reigns back to mrs ws. Quite bloody willingly actually as its hard graft!
Depends how you define the female role really. Me and Mrs Lunge both work full time and earn similar amounts of money but I do all the cooking, ironing and general household stuff. Mainly as she has loads of work to do in the evenings/weekends and I don't. Works well for us as, rather sadly, I find these tasks quite relaxing and she hates them.
We don't have kids, but I work from home, and do all the cooking, dishes n hoovering, plus the diy etc. I'm happy with the way things are. Love doing the cooking, it's relaxing. Especially with a nice wine or ale ๐
CFH !!!! You thought what about pegging?
Yup, my university years weren't wasted though. I use what I learned at uni just as much in my private life as I did when I used to work. The year I took off is now up to twelve and I miss work in the same way as you miss a rotten tooth that's been extracted - there's a gap but no pain.
Single parent so I have to.
OP has his own "Bored Housewives" thread on Tumblr shokka ๐
OP I'm surprised you've lost your work ethic after what 5 years at home ?
As for being rich or driving nice cars who's to say the wife's career won't provide those for you ?
I know a few women who are the main providers, strikes me their husbands have quite a good setup. In two cases the husbands have quite entrepreneurial "jobs", they have afford to take risks and dabble in different businesses as they are not doing it for the money.
well I wash my own clothes and don't moan about it, what time zone you in 1955?
[i]Anyone else perform the 'female' role in their house[/i]
Nah, we have a Dishwasher ๐
I did when the kids were small, for a year or so. I enjoyed it. Since then I've had one or two periods of unemployment, when I switched into domestic mode.
It suited me, go for it.
so, what precisely is the "female role"? ๐
Yep, 17 and a bit years into it now. Used to work as an IT and training consultant, on a decent wedge. Continued that for the first eight years or so until my IT skills got too obsolete, though with a couple of months graft I could probably catch up again to be useful to somebody.
Switched tack, renovating and renting houses to make a decent pension pot for us, currently in saving for next deposit mode so it looks like I'm doing nowt a lot of the time(I am).
Actually started looking at getting a regular job again soon, with kids heading to Uni from next year, and two of them going to be there at once, cash will be king once again. Maybe I need a taxi, quite like that idea.
If you mean principal child care and house husband - that's me
Took voluntary redundancy/got paid to bugger off from a job I hated in London 15 months ago and have been doing the housebound thing
Bored now and will be back at work by January - not really cut out for such a narrowing of my world to be honest. Trick will be to earn 50% of my last wage working 50% of the time as I still want to do the school run if I can
I always wanted to know if its as difficult as all the women make it out to be? Honestly is it really a full time job with a long lunch break and loose women on the box?
I'd like to switch roles as I can see it much more rewarding .. if equality is what feminism is all about I'm all for it. BTW I must ask do you have a moustache?
Tbh its not that I'm new to it, I've been doing it for the last 4 years and love it, but we've just made the decision that this will now be my role in life, at least for the next 7 years til my youngest starts senior school. And by then I'll have been out of the formal job market for 11 years and 48 so any career ambitions I ever may have had have now (or will have) disappeared. Always hated working anyway.
Though I'm happy with that, especially as the wife's career is on the up and up.
And as the wife says, I am now her b*tch, which is hard to argue with really.
Its more rewarding than being stuck in bad job
But I'll be honest, I feel like I'm stagnating now and much as I love being there for my children, I also want to develop my skills and do something other than cook, clean and help with primary maths homework
Then there is the money thing.I'm also lucky that my wife has a professional salary which takes the heat off but I can't just go and spunk dosh on bike bits/snowboarding holidays/sailing kit etc like I used to and I miss that!
[Edit} Ok so I still sort of do that but feel guilty which is rubbish
Be careful is my advice. Winston had it spot on - the guilt on spending any money on yourself is hard even if you are earning. There is a reason so many stay at home mums go 'mad' after giving up their careers for their men. It's not good for your self esteem. I've done it for 11 years working full time as well and its destroyed our marriage as she flew off on a stellar career and I stayed behind in a different world. Just be careful...
We are starting to make the switch - MrsMC is the one with the important skills/career, but has worked part time while the kids have been small. My "career" is now a dead end, so she is aiming to go back full time and I will reduce my hours when she gets settled in a role - ideally this will fit in with a move to more home based workers next year.
At the moment I work 37 hours a week, she does 30, we have two kids, each doing 3 after school activities a week, MrsMC and I each have an evening out to ourselves, life is ****ing manic!
When I've typed this I need to do the ironing...
good time to start a midweek lunchtime shred crew ? ๐
Me too in the slight 'househusband' role. We used to both work 3/4 time but my wife was forced to move up to 90% time. We lasted a bit like that but it wasn't much fun as everything became an insane rush of picking children up, nothing getting done at home, everything running out. Rather than just giving up altogether though I stayed with working mornings only which avoided some of the problems of going mad getting stuck at home but still left enough time to look after children and make things happen at home
Seems to work for the moment (4 months in) but it seems like although I had planned all these great things I could do with the extra time there isn't a moment. It's working for us both though so I'm happy


