You Can’t Put A Price On Time With Children
We stood in the teachers’ room and my friend and fellow teacher Julia recounted her trip to the pediatrician. “He asked me what Alison liked to eat, when she took her naps, if she smiled a lot … I just kept saying, ‘I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her babysitter.”’
My friend’s comment left a permanent mark on me. I was pregnant with my second child and trying to decide if I should continue with my career. With a jolt, I realized if I kept my full-time job I would lose out on a part of motherhood.
At that time, in 1990, my husband earned under $20,000 a year and my additional $15,000 seemed an absolute necessity. Financially, the choice seemed obvious. But would the money gained outweigh the hours lost?
I considered my $15,000 salary. Of this, $3,000 would go to additional taxes, $6,000 to childcare, $1,500 to additional car insurance, maintenance and gasoline. I added a conservative $500 for the extra clothes and convenience foods I could count on buying if I worked.
The bottom line: I would net over $4,000. This was a surprise!
Next, I figured each child would have about 4,300 waking hours in a year. If I stayed home, I would get to spend all 4,300 with them. If I worked 40 hours a week, that figure plummeted to 2,200. Essentially, I would lose 2,100 hours with each of my two children. Net loss: 4,200 child-hours. And I would be paid only $4,000 to do so. In other words, did I want to trade an hour with my child for 95 cents?
I decided to stay home.
Fortunately, my husband shared my concern and agreed with my decision. We are thankful for his steady employment that has allowed us to continue this lifestyle. To be honest, we sometimes miss those extra $4,000. We might drive a nicer car, take more vacations, buy more clothes, or go out to dinner more. Yet, we have never regretted our choice.
Having now logged over 30,000 hours with my two boys, I am convinced more than ever that my time with them is precious. Perhaps our culture’s price tag on an hour with a child is too small. For me, it helped to count the cost.
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