It is summer time! The kids are home from school or if you home school they are just glad they aren't doing school.
I would encourage parents to get your children some workbooks. This
will help them stay up to speed with what they have learned this past
year. Please refer to my home school article on the home school
fathers section.
I have received e-mails and have been talking to other stay at home
fathers and mothers on various chat groups or functions about their
household income.
The main concern for both sets of stay at home parents is they feel that they should contribute more financially.
First off I want to say just because you make more money it
isn’t going to make your life all that easier or more
fulfilling. If both spouses are working than the children will
suffer one way or another.
Many times the stay at home parent feels that they should contribute
more financially because they feel they are not doing much for the
household. I would have to disagree with that.
When we decide to have children God has placed us in charge to take
care of our children. Therefore, one parent should stay at home
during the day while the other parent is working. There is a lot
of work involved in staying home.
You say you want to do a little more financially. I want to make
some money for myself or for our family. I would say that this is
ok as long as you are gone once or twice a week. It is important
that our children see the family together more than they see the family
separated.
It is good that the stay at home parent has a little time by his/her
self, but it shouldn’t be a lot. We have our
responsibilities even when the working spouse comes home. When
the working spouse comes home he/she should be helping as well.
Here are some suggestions that I have. If you would like to own
your own home business then I would suggest that you spend one or two
nights a week on this. There are many home based businesses out
there. In fact my wife and I have one. But, with the
economy as it is the home based businesses haven’t been quite
that good.
I do have one friend that is a financial consultant, which I am
considering in doing, who does debt consolidation loans, investments,
and life insurance. At this time his business is good because the
interest rates are down.
If you have a desire to start your own home business than you must look
at the economy, look to see if it is what people are wanting, and if it
will take a lot of time to work. If it will take a lot of time to
work I would suggest not going that route.
If you would like to work for someone there are some businesses that
will work around your schedule. One business that is good at this
is Starbucks Coffee shops. You can go to the web site at
www.starbucks.com.
If you have children who go to school than it is ok to work outside of
home while they are in school. However, you should be there, at
school to pick them up or you should be at home when they get
there. I would suggest that for the summer time you take a leave
of absence from your job to be home with your children. Or, just work
one or two nights per week.
Another possibility is temporary work. Many temp agencies need
people to work for a day or two a week. You can get nighttime
jobs as well. This would be good way to for those who have
children in school.
There is a stay at home father that is one of our regular
readers. He likes to work with wood. He is very gifted in
making toys and furniture. He goes to different fairs once a
month or every other month to sell what he has made. The fairs
that he attends are usually one weekend.
He and his wife have agreed that he can spend some time at night, after
the children are in bed, to do this work. He still gives time to
his wife as well. This is very important that we keep the
marriage growing strong. If we neglect the marriage than it will
fall apart.
You and your spouse have gone over your finances. This has made
it possible for you to stay home. The extra income is not really
necessary. You are doing your job by taking care of the
household.
Having that new car, bigger house, or whatever the Jones' have is not all that important. Having a close knit family is.
Make sure you give your kids and spouse a hug today. Tell them how much you love them. Bart Buskey, Meridian, Idaho email at:
