Romney on Parenting...

At NBC News’ Education Nation Summit on Tuesday, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said it was preferable for one parent stay home when kids are young.

Wow...
1st: This stay at home stuff didn't really begin to seriously trend till the Victorian Era...at least becoming the definition of "stay at home" that it is today.
2nd: Studies have not been in favor of the stay at home moms mental state:

"There’s a new study out today showing that mothers who stay home with children are more likely to be depressed and angry than mothers who are employed. But it is far too simple to look at the data through that one lens. If you dig down a level what it really shows is that mothers with fewer resources struggle more than mothers who have more."

3rd: There are numerous Scandinavian studies that have concluded that children excel in daycare, if they are in an appropriate daycare, that offers enrichment, and other levels of Maslow's Hierarchy.  (No I can't link to these, they are locked in behind databases walls and require login accounts.)

Stay at home moms are awesome. I don't know how they do it.  Sometimes I wish I was a stay at home mom, but about 6 months of maternity leave cured this from my soul.  Most of the time I am quite relieved to get to work, eat lunch by myself, pee in the toilet by myself, and "gasp" allow thoughts that are not Dr. Seuss related bounce around my noggin, though frequently I start randomly rhyming which drives me crazy...

If Mitt is going to spew forth information about staying at home...he really needs to get me data to support his information.  Original research, studies, and other forms of data.  He also needs to show to me understands multiple sides of this equation.  In this case he has not done this. Also Mitt apparently lives in some fantasy world were one parent can support the household with one income.  

1st:  What if something happens to that income producing parental unit?  Death, illness, or lost job.  Here I am at home, no job prospects, very little experience to take a position and feed my family.

2nd: Medical coverage- income earner looses job, looses medical coverage...trust me uninsured medical payments alone can kill a family and send them to the street.

3rd: In one month, we spend half our salary on feeding, clothing, diapering, daycare, gassing the cars, and other frivolous nonsense - like toothpaste - on a whole we are still doing better then some in America.  So when Mitt opens his mouth and starts talking about how my life should be, were the parents should be, and what we should do with our children.  He should come visit, and spend several months living on our salary alone and see if his magical tune changes.

Get thee to a library Mitt and do some research and then stop by the house. I am making up the twin bed in our 1000 square foot house for you to sleep on in the attic.  The bed is located several feet from the cat box, so it shouldn't be that stinky.

(Yes my mom stayed home with me, did it make be better and more awesome?  I do not know)