Mother Knows Best. Really.

After my third child, I don’t go back to work. Three kids with various after-school activities keep me busy enough, and it’s just so much easier to just be there for school breaks or illnesses or any unexpected event.

Apparently, this sends the wrong message to my eight-year-old son, who one day makes a remark amounting to, “Dads work; moms don’t.”

Me: “Are you saying that only men work and women don’t? That women don’t have jobs?”

Son: “Erm, yes? I mean, Dad goes to work every morning and you just stay home.”

Me: “Well, first of all, I do work at home, thank you very much. I may not get paid for it, but I do all of the cleaning, and the cooking, and the mowing, and the fixing. If I wasn’t home, we would have to do all of this work on the weekend, or we would have to pay someone to come and help us.”

Son: “Okay?”

Me: “Second of all, of course, women can have jobs. You know it. You’ve seen it. What do you think your teacher is doing at school? She’s working. This is her job.”

Son: “Oh.”

Me: “Last week, we went to the doctor and to the dentist. Didn’t you notice that they were women? What about the cashiers in the supermarket? You’ve seen plenty of women working.”

Son: “That’s true.”

Me: “Do you remember when you went to [Caregiver] after school? That was her job, too. It’s not just for fun that she took care of your sister all day. I paid her.”

Son: “That’s a job? Okay.”

Me: “And just why do you think you were going to [Caregiver]? Why wasn’t I home to take care of you? WELL, I WAS AT WORK.”

Son: “Ohhh.”