Home » Being A Homemaker IS Having A Job, And A Job, And A Job....

 

If I was a Doctor, and I worked all day, came home late at night, with my paycheck, had something to eat, and went to bed, would that be harder than what my partner did all day while I was away?

He took care of three little kids, cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the floors, washed the floors, fed the kids, played with them, took them to the park or down to the lake, refereed numerous tug of wars between them, got them dressed, went food shopping, and to the post office, pharmacy, and to get gas, put them down for their nap, scrubbed the tubs, did three loads of laundry, got the stains out of the rug on hands and knees, fixed the toilet that kept running, made dinner, gave them all baths, read to them, tucked them in, and sat down at eight oclock for the first time all day.

Would that be even harder than being a doctor all day, and in bed by nine?

I believe so. I believe taking care of kids is the hardest job on Earth, and yet there are those who don't think the caretaker who stays at home and goes through hundreds of unexpected situations a day "deserves" any compensation.

They are "Doing what they want to do." Yes, but isn't the Doctor doing what she wants to do? Is she not getting a paycheck for using her mind and body to take care of situations that arise? Then where does it say that the parent left at home to do all the menial work the Doctor doesn't have time or desire to do, shouldn't get paid?

The Doctor is a Doctor, doing the same thing all day, helping the sick. The caretaker goes through a variety of jobs, a skinned knee needs attention, a splinter has to come out, medicine has to be administered at times, outfits need to be picked out and gotten on the child somehow, breakfast, lunch, and dinner has to be made, playtime has to include toys that stimulate the mind, and that usually includes the caretaker playing, too. And disputes between kids have to be settled. Hurt feelings have to be soothed. It is an all consuming job, and it is twenty four hours a day, with late night nightmares and wake ups that have to be tended to.

Those who do not have kids have no idea what it is like, and shouldn't try to comment on the importance of what a caretaker does all day, and I've done it for almost twenty two years now. When young girls want to have babies, I have seen on shows, they take these girls and make them responsible, under supervision, of babies for twenty four hours, since before they do so, they think they know everything about child rearing. When they get past that day, none of them wants to have a baby.

If one hasn't been a caretaker of three kids for twenty two years, they have no basis on which to claim that they deserve nothing in compensation. "Were getting what we wanted." Well, believe it or not, the Doctor got what she wanted, too.

She got to have the kids, a home, and someone to take care of everything.

She managed to get a babysitter, a cook, a housekeeper, a nurse, a therapist, a playmate, an errand runner, an accountant, and someone to take care of all the little things-making sure homework is done, projects are done, clothes are appropriate to wear to school, books are covered, parent conferences are gone to, doctors appointments are kept.

Birthdays need to be planned and taken care of, running to the mall, or Toys R Us to shop, wrapping, decorating, inviting people or kids to celebrate.

This holds true for Christmas as well. Cards are sent out, decorations are pulled out and put up, then afterwards, dismantled and put away.

Would the Doctor trade places with the caretaker? I think not. At least she gets an hour for lunch! She can do all the fun things with the kids, because everything else is taken care of. But because she gets a paycheck, and the caretaker simply gets what he needs to raise his family and take care of their home, it is not acceptable to think this caretaker deserves any monetary compensation.

Only an ignorant person, in my opinion, would think this way. To be a full time, stay at home caretaker is the most involved, unpredictable, draining, and incredible "JOB" there is on this Earth. The rewards are to be able to watch your children grow, and be with them every day of their lives. To think that the paying of the utilities, and food and clothes, is compensation to the caretaker, is ludicrous.

Any home is going to need electricity, water, phone, TV, taxes and food and clothing.

Single people on their own pay these same bills. What a caretaker deserves is compensation for working their hardest to provide decent, honest, dependable kids, and for taking care of everything they need to accomplish that goal. It so easy for people who have never done it, to think it's nothing, and shouldn't be recognized as a job. And they actually may think they know what they're talking about when they put caretakers down, and think that they did nothing for twenty years, and more, but spend money.

Overspending to some is just their greed and love of money. Children cost money, period, three children costs three times as much, period. Clothes are expensive, sneakers are expensive, toys are expensive, Nintendo systems and games are expensive, Christmas is expensive, birthdays are expensive. Going to the movies is expensive. Lunches for school are expensive, cars when they get older are expensive, insurance is expensive, gas is expensive. I don't see any luxuries or excessive spending mentioned for the caretaker. And yet, because the money is going towards these things, and there is none left, the Doctor wants to know where it all went? Its : "excessive." Try doing it yourself, thats the only way to know. The total cost of raising a child through college is estimated to be $323,740, in my case, times three, and who is spending all the money?

When someone knows nothing of which they speak, they should keep their opinions to themselves. Because thats all they are; opinions. If we look up the facts on how much it is estimated to raise a child until the age of 18, and then see if there could possibly have been "addictive and obsessive spending," I think we will see the truth.

For the life of me, I will never know why people make assumptions based on what someone else tells them, instead of finding out the truth.

For the life of me, I will never understand why a caretaker is not a job that comes with a salary.