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Probably not for a family of six--lots more laundry, lots more veggies to chop, lots more dishes to wash, more mess in the kitchen-- larger portions take longer to cook--
I have brothers, no sisters, so growing up it was Mom and me for kitchen duty--old fashioned I know but it was the 50's-60's and just the way it was.. I learned to cook for a family of 6. During college for a few years until I got a better job, I cooked dinner for 4 guys, for my evening meal. (They ate more than a family of 6) No Microwaves yet. When I got married, I had a really hard time making small meals.
Now we're older--try to eat healthy-at least during the week--but I still tend to make large quantities--thank goodness for the freezer.
I have my grandmother's ceramic deep pie-dish and a shallow one. After my dad retired, he really got into cooking and baking, I think that my mom was thrilled that chore was off her shoulder's. He made the very best pies, and cobblers I have ever had. (In his mom's pie plates--now mine) I have his recipes and try to make pies for family Christmas and other celebrations. I miss him so very much.
Actually, the way he cooks, it would be for a family of 12!! He makes triple batches so we can freeze portions for lunches. We get dinner and 8-10 lunches (or quick dinners on the nights we're just not home due to kids activities) out of the batches every time he makes soups, pasta dishes, roasts, ... just about any non seafood dish. Seafood dishes he prepares only what we eat that night but how long does it take to saute shrimp or fish (he made shrimp scampi Thursday and spend about half an hour preparing it)??? It really doesn't take any longer to cook for six vs. cooking four 4 unless you're playing short order cook and then, we're talking 15 minutes more per day. Nothing major.
As to laundry, you're still talking minutes here. It takes less than five minutes to load a washer (including walking to where it is), a minute to transfer clothes from one machine to the other and 5 minutes while watching TV to fold the clothes. Going from my family of four to a family of six, I'd add about 20 minutes a week of actual work doing laundry. The machines do all the work. Ditto for dishes, the machine does the work.
Unless you're playing maid to your kids (and if you are, that's your fault), there realy isn't much extra housework either. You may need to mop floors twice a week because you're home but that only takes 15 minutes a room.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 09-24-2011 at 08:43 AM..
It takes me a long time to cook dinner (about an hour usually) mostly because I try to bring my kids into the kitchen with me so they can learn how to cook, too. I also involve them with the clean-up, which also makes things take a little longer. Sure - I could do everything alone and have it done faster, but my kids wouldn't benefit from that.
Dh taught my kids too cook each type of food they can cook, once and after that they did it themselves. There is no need to teach cooking every single day unless your kids are really slow learners or you're trying to teach them to cook before they are ready. While it makes for nice mother and child bonding time, you're still talking only an hour a day and this does not come close to what grandma had to do AND the average working mom can do it too so it's not reason to stay home. How do you think my kids learned to cook? Working with their dad, after he worked all day, in the kitchen.
It's amazing how much time things like cars, grocery stores and refrigerator/freezers save us. Of course, now we have to make time to go to the gym while grandma got her exercise walking to market every day, working a wringer and beating her rugs on the line....
Depends, I suppose, on your definition of "keep track of" (if I'd meant simply "laundering", I would have used that term), the type of uniform, and your standards of cleanliness.
Y'know, between the "not buying it" and rolling eyes you remind me of one of the more unpleasant teenaged children of my acquaintance. It would probably help not to use your students as social roll models.
Generally speaking, things often take less time for working parents because of one or more of thses three:
1. No one's home all day
2. Hired help
or 3. Lower standards.
At home parents generally are home with children or their own elderly parents, none of whom are by nature tidy.
If you don't have to look at it all day, a messy house, unmade beds, or undusted venetian blinds don't bother you nearly as much.
But the washing machine and dryer do the work . You just put the uniform in. Do you really find this so hard and time consuming??? I had work uniforms for years when I worked in product testing. It was never a burden to keep them clean.
As to things taking less time for working parents, there is very little difference in the time it takes to do things. Dust still falls at the same rate and laundry does not reduce in volume. Also there are trade offs. I may not make lunch but I pack lunches, I packed a diaper bag when my kids were small, added time to pick up/drop off kids to day care to my schedule. All things considred, I'd argue that the working parent has more to do. Just transporting to and from day care take over 3 hours a week. How many more times do you have to mop your floors than me to use up an extra 3 hours a week? Unless you're playing maid to your kids, and if you are, shame on you even toddlers can put their things away, I don't think you can come up with as much work as a working mom if you toss in getting ready for day care and transporting to and from day care.
Dh taught my kids too cook each type of food they can cook, once and after that they did it themselves. There is no need to teach cooking every single day unless your kids are really slow learners or you're trying to teach them to cook before they are ready. While it makes for nice mother and child bonding time, you're still talking only an hour a day and this does not come close to what grandma had to do AND the average working mom can do it too so it's not reason to stay home. How do you think my kids learned to cook? Working with their dad, after he worked all day, in the kitchen.
It's amazing how much time things like cars, grocery stores and refrigerator/freezers save us. Of course, now we have to make time to go to the gym while grandma got her exercise walking to market every day, working a wringer and beating her rugs on the line....
How old are you? My Grandma had a vacuum cleaner, a grocery store nearby. Grandma and Grandpa only had one car but she was free to drive to the store when Grandpa came home from work. She had access to a washing machine, etc. Many people still walk to the grocery store and go to the laundromat to do their laundry. Many people still have hardwood floors that are unsealed. Many families only have one car. Not everyone lives your exact same lifestyle. Not that anyone needs to justify being a stay at home Mom but seriously....
Sorry, I have a dh who likes to cook gourmet (his hobby) so I know how much time it takes to cook mouth watering meals. It's not an all day event. Not even close. It is quite doable after work. My dh does it all the time and he often cooks meals that have to be fussed with several times but we're talking a couple of minutes each time. He'll chop everything he needs and get all of the ingredients out then start the meal then go do something else until the timer tells him it's time to add something, stir, whatever... It is very rare for him to put in more than a half hour of actual work on a meal. Unless you're counting the time the stove/oven is doing the cooking, it just doesn't take that long to cook from scratch. Certainly not enough time to justify staying home so you can do it and even if it did, given you don't have to, it's still optional.
My goodness. Such judgement passed on me and other posters you do not even have the pleasure of knowing.
I never felt the need to "justify" staying at home. I wanted to stay home and I LOVED it. My wonderful family supported the decision and the results are three happy, well adjusted adult sons, a husband who looks at me with adoration (yes, adoration) in his eyes, and the knowledge that my parents were well taken care of. By me. In my home.
Please feel free to live your life however you see fit. I cannot understand your seemingly endless need to put the rest of us down. I'd rather respect the choices of others and do what I can to support them.
My goodness. Such judgement passed on me and other posters you do not even have the pleasure of knowing.
I never felt the need to "justify" staying at home. I wanted to stay home and I LOVED it. My wonderful family supported the decision and the results are three happy, well adjusted adult sons, a husband who looks at me with adoration (yes, adoration) in his eyes, and the knowledge that my parents were well taken care of. By me. In my home.
Please feel free to live your life however you see fit. I cannot understand your seemingly endless need to put the rest of us down. I'd rather respect the choices of others and do what I can to support them.
My goodness. Such judgement passed on me and other posters you do not even have the pleasure of knowing.
I never felt the need to "justify" staying at home. I wanted to stay home and I LOVED it. My wonderful family supported the decision and the results are three happy, well adjusted adult sons, a husband who looks at me with adoration (yes, adoration) in his eyes, and the knowledge that my parents were well taken care of. By me. In my home.
Please feel free to live your life however you see fit. I cannot understand your seemingly endless need to put the rest of us down. I'd rather respect the choices of others and do what I can to support them.
Yes. I don't understand the judgement either. I made the choice to stay home because I wanted to and because it's a good fit for our family. I support people in making the choices that they feel are in the best interest of themselves and their families. I can't imagine telling a working Mom that she doesn't "need" to work or that the work she does is not necessary. What is unnecessary is passing judgement on people who have made choices that happen to be different from our own.
My goodness. Such judgement passed on me and other posters you do not even have the pleasure of knowing.
I never felt the need to "justify" staying at home. I wanted to stay home and I LOVED it. My wonderful family supported the decision and the results are three happy, well adjusted adult sons, a husband who looks at me with adoration (yes, adoration) in his eyes, and the knowledge that my parents were well taken care of. By me. In my home.
Please feel free to live your life however you see fit. I cannot understand your seemingly endless need to put the rest of us down. I'd rather respect the choices of others and do what I can to support them.
Thank you Dew! Nicely stated. My response would have had a few ####'s in it.
It greatly saddens me how judgemental many (not all) of the women posting in this thread are. In my opinion, if how someone else happily lives their life (without hurting anyone) bothers you so much, you have issues.
How about live and let live??
As long as each of us are happy in our own choices I don't see that there is a problem, and there is certainly no need to attack or negatively interrogate others over their life choices. Shame.
Could you please explain why one would need to "justify" staying at home? I don't understand.
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Probably not for a family of six--lots more laundry, lots more veggies to chop, lots more dishes to wash, more mess in the kitchen-- larger portions take longer to cook--
. You just put the uniform in. Do you really find this so hard and time consuming??? I had work uniforms for years when I worked in product testing. It was never a burden to keep them clean. 
my feelings exactly
