I Don't Believe In Single Parent Income Families | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics and Activism

I Don't Believe In Single Parent Income Families

A Reaction to "A Letter to My Breadwinner Husband"

6
I Don't Believe In Single Parent Income Families
Abigail Rings

This morning when I was going to the gym I was listening to the radio and I happened to tune in right in the middle of the morning hosts reading “A letter to my breadwinner husband”.

From the second I tuned in I knew it was going to be frustrating, but what I didn't anticipate was the lack of push back from listeners.

Either people my age just don’t listen to the radio any more, I was up too ungodly early or the demographic of this radio station skewed way older than I thought.

As the calls started rolling in, I got more and more frustrated.

Of all of the comments, this particular one (from a man) was my favorite (read: “favorite” as dripping with sarcasm): “It’s just the way it should be and it’s unfortunate that some women have to work."

Excuse me? It’s “the way it should be” according to whom? According to your 1950s, backwards viewpoints maybe, but not in 2016 and definitely not for me.

Aside from the fact that I, and most millennial women I know, want to work and develop a career, I don’t understand how families that can survive on a one-parent income still exist.

What with car payments and maintenance, rent, groceries, utility bills, and general expenses, living on a single parent income and raising children seems like an impossibility; especially to millennials.

For instance, I know so many millennials with more seemingly insurmountable student debt than they know what to do with. And before you get on your “your college was obviously too expensive or you didn’t work hard enough for scholarships” soapbox, that debt wasn’t because they made irresponsible higher education choices or because they lacked scholarship funds, it’s because college is damn expensive now and if you want a job that leads to a career, you have to get that $100,000 piece of paper.

And we haven’t even talked about the whole “I feel so sorry for women who have to work and don’t get to raise their kids” comment. That one was really the cherry on top of a pile of outdated logic.

I want to work. I want to develop a career. I don't want to have to rely on someone else for my basic living expenses, and I know many millennials, both women and men alike, who would agree with me.

Being able to stand on my own two feet is vitally important to me.

I watched my mother raise my sister and I as a single mom for a few years, and after she remarried and had my other sister and brother she continued working her way all the way up to a Vice President position even though my step-father worked at a great job.

Sure, this meant that she made sacrifices and wasn’t home as much which meant that my siblings and I had a variety of other child care throughout our lives, but it wasn’t at all to our detriment.

My siblings and I are all strong, determined individuals who have the desire to work hard to make something out of ourselves. We are well-adjusted, grew up in a loving home, and still have a very strong family connection with our parents and each other.

I did not suffer because my mother (or father) chose to work. Let me say that again.

I. Did. Not. Suffer.

I actually feel that I benefitted from seeing my mother work so hard. It made me even more driven to succeed and work towards my goals, especially as a woman. I got into a good school. Graduated. Did the whole awful post-grad job search thing. Found my passion-career. And feel that I am well on my way to a successful and fulfilling life.

And maybe that includes kids. Maybe it doesn’t. But regardless of kids or not, nothing will change my desire to work and develop my career. Nothing will alter that path for me. And you can be damn sure that if I choose to have kids, I will be a great mom and a great business women.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Featured

Yoga love

A long over due thank you note to my greatest passion.

22961
A person in a yoga pose surrounded by a supportive community of fellow yogis with a look of peace and gratitude on their face the image should convey the sense of strength mindfulness and appreciation that the writer feels towards yoga
StableDiffusion

Dearest Yoga,

You deserve a great thank you.

Keep Reading...Show less
Arts Entertainment

Epic Creation Myths: Norse Origins Unveiled

What happened in the beginning, and how the heavens were set in motion.

3993
The Norse Creation Myth

Now, I have the everlasting joy of explaining the Norse creation myth. To be honest, it can be a bit kooky, so talking about it is always fun. The entire cosmos is included in this creation myth, not just the earth but the sun and the moon as well. This will be a short retelling, a summary of the creation myth, somewhat like I did with Hermod's ride to Hel.

Keep Reading...Show less
Old school ghetto blaster sat on the floor
8tracks radio

We all scroll through the radio stations in the car every once in a while, whether its because we lost signal to our favorite one or we are just bored with the same ol' songs every day. You know when you're going through and you hear a song where you're just like "I forgot this existed!" and before you know it, you're singing every word? Yeah, me too. Like, 95% of the time. If you're like me and LOVE some good throwback music, here's a list of songs from every genre that have gotten lost in time, but never truly forgotten.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

27 Hidden Joys

Appreciation for some of life's most discredited pleasures.

35282
Best Things in Life

Life is full of many wonderful pleasures that many of us, like myself, often forget about. And it's important to recognize that even on bad days, good things still happen. Focusing on these positive aspects of our day-to-day lives can really change a person's perspective. So in thinking about the little things that make so many of us happy, I've here's a list of some of the best things that often go unrecognized and deserve more appreciation:

Keep Reading...Show less
beer on the beach

Summer is hot and humid, and it's almost like summer was made specifically to drink the refreshing, cold, crisp wonderful, delicious, nutritious nectar of the gods. Which is none other than beer; wonderful cold beer. With summer playing peek-a-boo around the corner while we finish up this semester, it's time to discuss the only important part of summer. And if you haven't already guessed, it's beer. There are few things I take more seriously than my beer, in order are: sports... and beer. Here are my favorite summer brews:

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments