The traditional role of a woman staying in the home has packed her bags, stepped out the door, and hopped into a cab. Not a note to say “thank you,” or even a “farewell” kiss having been offered, or even given as a common courtesy. Nothing, but the cold wind blowing in from the outside.
Likewise, the traditional role of a man has abandoned ship like a drowning rat who attempts to find solid ground. Much like the traditional role of a woman, the traditional role of the man being the bread winner, the hunter, gatherer, has become a domesticated house cat, rather than the king of the Jungle who reigns supreme in his jungle palace.
Since November 2008, I had suffered a lay off (which I happened to have returned back to the same employer back in 2009 for only three weeks before being laid off again). Because of this, I have had only one significant employment opportunity that lasted for approximately six months. Despite the elongated gap of unemployment, I have secured a very part time opportunity with a major inventory auditor company. By very part time, this means a typical per hour work week is about 6 to 12 hours. Not enough to pay the necessary bills.
On top of this, my wife has worked full time until her maternity leave in November of 2009, and the subsequent birth of our wonderful daughter – Megan. After being on maternity leave until latter part of January, she has returned back to work on a part time basis until she has to go back to work full time.
Therefore, since the birth of our wonderful daughter, I have become part of the unorthodox community of House Husbands(A married man who manages the household as his main occupation and whose wife usually earns the family income).
Good Morning America actually did a spot on the rise of House Husbands in our culture and society today:
Just as Fortune labeled the “trophy wife,” in the late ’80s, the magazine has coined a new phrase to describe stay-at-home dads who support workplace moms: “trophy husbands.” As women continue their climb up the corporate ladder, such domestic gods about the house are becoming more common.
Not only is the trend of House Husbands on the rise in the United States, but also on the rise in the United Kingdom. According to the Telegraph.co.uk article House Husbands: Are you man enough? the trend is apparently growing:
Across the land, more and more men are giving up work to become full-time fathers, putting their children’s welfare before their professional ambitions, and bucking the trend for selfish career-driven parenting recently criticised by The Good Childhood Inquiry. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal that there are 192,000 house husbands in the UK, compared to 119,000 16 years ago.
Why is there a shift in the traditional roles of Stay-at-home mothers and the bread winning husband? From a preliminary Google research, much of the trend seems to be due in part because of the recession that has hit local, national, and global economies. The New Statesman Article (Rise of the Desperate House Husband) by Gaby Hinsliff states:
But suddenly these divides have started to crumble at great speed. A recession that has pummelled traditionally male industries – construction, finance, manufacturing – while sparing the female-dominated public sector (at least until the spending cuts start) is quietly redrawing family lives.This recession has driven men back home and some women into work.
Therefore, the purpose of this blog is to share my own personal experience being a House Husband. The challenges faced by both my wife and I (as she is the sole bread winner, and who has recently confided in me that she is a bit bitter and jealous that she has to be the one to bring home the bacon, and I get the ability to stay at home).
Whether it is planning the weekly menu, developing a grocery list, taking inventory of the pantry, managing time effectively, scheduling doctor appointments, tending to the needs of an infant, and a pre-teen, being a house husband is no picnic in the park. There is no time for soap opera’s and eating bon bons. Not only this, but looking for a more stable employment opportunity in this labor rich market, attempting to develop and launch a home based freelance writing career; as well as becoming an independent author, being a domestic engineer is probably the most challenging work ever to have experienced.
So, welcome home to the House Husband Journal and feel free to browse around, leave your comments, and ask your questions.
Thank you!!!! 1000 times!!!