Does Having Kids Dull Career Opportunities? [Archive]

EVAY

04-07-2011, 08:53 AM

Only if you take your parenting responsibilities seriously. Lots of us grandparent-types end up virtually raising our grandchildren because our children find them inconvenient to their career advancement.

EVAY

04-07-2011, 08:56 AM

Children are seen as something the next generation want to have...not something they want to engage.

I don't mean to imply that all are like that...but I see it.

One of my children takes his parenting totally seriously. One other takes it seriously but not enjoyably. Another, I swear, just wanted to see what they would look like. Those are the ones living with me now.

TeyshaBlue

04-07-2011, 09:00 AM

EVAY

04-07-2011, 09:02 AM

I've got 4 grandkids living with me right now.:depressed

Damn, now I feel like I have it lucky because I only have 2 of them. Inescapable conclusion, though, huh?

TeyshaBlue

04-07-2011, 09:05 AM

Damn, now I feel like I have it lucky because I only have 2 of them. Inescapable conclusion, though, huh?

So it seems. It looks like we'll probably be granted permanent custody of 2 of them. The other 2 I think will be okay once the Mother reestablishes her finances. *Knocks on wood*

CosmicCowboy

04-07-2011, 09:08 AM

EVAY

04-07-2011, 09:15 AM

What gets me is how casually these girls get knocked up/have babies. My daughter has had several single friends get knocked up by guys they had no intention of settling down with and they were just so damn happy to be pregnant...I guess it's an attention/being loved/needed thing...they post every frigging hunger craving, "14 week belly picture" etc. on facebook...very creepy...

Well, we are clearly in a differing generational value set. I remember laughing my head off about 20 years ago when a niece of mine got pregnant out of wedlock and actually sent gleeful birth announcements to people like my mother, who was apoplectic upon receipt of same.

Sounds like my niece was ahead of her time. LOL.

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 09:26 AM

What gets me is how casually these girls get knocked up/have babies. My daughter has had several single friends get knocked up by guys they had no intention of settling down with and they were just so damn happy to be pregnant...I guess it's an attention/being loved/needed thing...they post every frigging hunger craving, "14 week belly picture" etc. on facebook...very creepy...

Obviously they saw their friends buy slushies with lone star cards and.....

Well, you know the rest.

As for the OP, is the sky blue?

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 09:27 AM

Well, we are clearly in a differing generational value set. I remember laughing my head off about 20 years ago when a niece of mine got pregnant out of wedlock and actually sent gleeful birth announcements to people like my mother, who was apoplectic upon receipt of same.

Sounds like my niece was ahead of her time. LOL.

Well, I'm too lazy to look this up right away but I'm pretty sure my generation's birthrate is down so I would agree that we have a different set of values but its not necessarily the one you're painting.

EVAY

04-07-2011, 09:30 AM

Well, I'm too lazy to look this up right away but I'm pretty sure my generation's birthrate is down so I would agree that we have a different set of values but its not necessarily the one you're painting.

Which do you think I am painting?

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 09:32 AM

Children are seen as something the next generation want to have...not something they want to engage.

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 09:33 AM

I'd argue that more than ever, children are something we DO NOT want to have.

CosmicCowboy

04-07-2011, 09:49 AM

I'd argue that more than ever, children are something we DO NOT want to have.

The gene pool sincerely appreciates your abstinence, Manny...:p:

boutons_deux

04-07-2011, 10:18 AM

It certainly does for women

From 4 years ago:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18742634/ns/business-careers/

and this year:

http://realbusiness.co.uk/kate_pritchard/does_maternity_leave_damage_careers

Throw in the -25% compensation for women vs men in the same job.

See Wal-mart gender discrimination suit, where I expect the SCOTUS men to vote for Wal-mart, and the SCOTUS women to vote for women, proving yet again that justice ISN'T blind.

EVAY

04-07-2011, 10:36 AM

I'd argue that more than ever, children are something we DO NOT want to have.

Oh, okay. I understand. I thought you were referring to whether or not they had children out of wedlock. That is much less important these days (wedlock) than it used to be. I thought that is what you meant.

I think you are right about children in general. Almost all of the industrialized, developed nations have declining birth rates, which I assume has to do with the perceived cost of having children, more than anything else.

hater

04-07-2011, 10:45 AM

no necesarily.

If you have kids to support, you actually worry more about work and your performance increases. So thus, you get more opportunities.

Agloco

04-07-2011, 10:58 AM

http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/04/06/does-having-kids-dull-job-ambition/

In a word........yes.

Anyone with children/ grandchildren would agree.

Yes.

No question about it.

It's not that we don't love em. It's just reality.

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 10:58 AM

Oh, okay. I understand. I thought you were referring to whether or not they had children out of wedlock. That is much less important these days (wedlock) than it used to be. I thought that is what you meant.

I think you are right about children in general. Almost all of the industrialized, developed nations have declining birth rates, which I assume has to do with the perceived cost of having children, more than anything else.

More than ever kids are born out of wedlock and to single mothers today. I don't argue that one bit. Its not a good situation.

Wild Cobra

04-07-2011, 11:25 AM

What gets me is how casually these girls get knocked up/have babies. My daughter has had several single friends get knocked up by guys they had no intention of settling down with and they were just so damn happy to be pregnant...I guess it's an attention/being loved/needed thing...they post every frigging hunger craving, "14 week belly picture" etc. on facebook...very creepy...
It doesn't help that the Safety Net has become a Hammock.

How many of her friend have babies three years apart?

Agloco

04-07-2011, 11:48 AM

I've got 4 grandkids living with me right now.:depressed

Ouch. I've got twin girls age 3. I've already got my shotgun loaded. One of the things I harp on my wife about is that the environment in which they are brought up matters......a lot. She's not as preoccupied as I am with instilling a strong work ethic and driving them to secure a decent financial future before deciding on children. That means having the freedom of career advancement.

Thankfully I was able to finish out grad school before any of those considerations limited my ability to advance my career. I would have been stuck in a career that I really didn't enjoy at all.

Koolaid_Man

04-07-2011, 04:49 PM

Ouch. I've got twin girls age 3. I've already got my shotgun loaded. One of the things I harp on my wife about is that the environment in which they are brought up matters......a lot. She's not as preoccupied as I am with instilling a strong work ethic and driving them to secure a decent financial future before deciding on children. That means having the freedom of career advancement.

Thankfully I was able to finish out grad school before any of those considerations limited my ability to advance my career. I would have been stuck in a career that I really didn't enjoy at all.

If you're not financially independent you may want to have your kids consult a financially independent consultant pertaining to money matters. You may have their best interests at heart but do you really know about managing money to the point money is working for you - Probably not...

Koolaid_Man

04-07-2011, 04:50 PM

http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2011/04/06/does-having-kids-dull-job-ambition/

Q. - Does Having Kids Dull Career Opportunities

A. - Not if you're white

SnakeBoy

04-07-2011, 05:37 PM

I'd argue that more than ever, children are something we DO NOT want to have.

The age demographics of this country would disagree with you.

Drachen

04-07-2011, 06:24 PM

It absolutely dulls career opportunities because you can't take risks that you could otherwise take. You may be able negotiate better compensation on the jobs that you do get because there is less pressure to get a job.

I personally can survive on 10 bucks a week for food. My family cannot.

Also, the average person won't go to school while working full time and having a family. So that in and of itself can retard the career growth of a person.

coyotes_geek

04-07-2011, 06:47 PM

Yes, kids dull your career opportunities. For starters, kids give you something more important in life to worry about than work. More directly related to your job however, kids also reduce your capacity to do things like work overtime, travel, relocate, etc.

Drachen

04-07-2011, 06:52 PM

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 07:43 PM

The age demographics of this country would disagree with you.

How so? Care to provide data?

Marcus Bryant

04-07-2011, 10:30 PM

You are what is important. Not your kids, not your parents. You.

You warehouse your parents in nursing homes and the kids you don't manage to avoid end up just like you.

SnakeBoy

04-07-2011, 10:36 PM

How so? Care to provide data?

Well we actually needed a baby boom 15-20 years ago to pay for the boomers but it would be better late than never. Our ponzi scheme entitlements need a better pyramid than what we are facing in order to work.

http://www.edstephan.org/Animation/pyramid.gifhttp://www.edstephan.org/Animation/pyramid.gif

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 10:51 PM

Well we actually needed a baby boom 15-20 years ago to pay for the boomers but it would be better late than never. Our ponzi scheme entitlements need a better pyramid than what we are facing in order to work.

http://www.edstephan.org/Animation/pyramid.gif

No idea what your point is but birthrates have been declining for quite some time. There is extremely solid evidence to show that my generation is having fewer kids.

SnakeBoy

04-07-2011, 10:56 PM

My point was simply that we are screwing ourselves by not wanting to have children.

MannyIsGod

04-07-2011, 11:07 PM

Oh, I see. Maybe in the short run with entitlements but the long term reality is that the Earth's resources are already being taxed. I think i declining population is actually a good thing. There are only so many jobs, only so much food, only so much energy and in the end we'll be better off if we're fewer.

SnakeBoy

04-07-2011, 11:20 PM

I don't disagree that a smaller global population would be a good thing but a declining birthrate is the worst way to get there. Mankind might eventually be better off but "we" won't. If you look at the gif you can see "we" are pretty much screwed well past 2050 without something changing. A global pandemic would be the best way to get there since it would likely take the largest toll on elderly people. As long as it happens before I become one the elderly.