Romney: It’s better to have a parent at home

[trailmonkee]

Source: Washington Post

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

The comment came during a discussion of early childhood education and preparing children for kindergarten. “It’s an advantage to have two parents, but to have one parent to stay closely connected and at home during those early years of education can be very very important,” he said.

Ann Romney was a stay-at-home mother to the couple’s five sons.

In 2011, 63.9 percent of the mothers with children under 6 years old held jobs outside the home, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/wp/2012/09/25/romney-its-better-to-have-a-parent-at-home/

---

I don't think he has a sympathetic bone in his body?

Idea for a new reality show... take a bunch of Asshole Millionaires and have them work three fucking jobs as a single parent raising three fucking kids!!!! with no fucking health insurance!!! and no fucking car!!! God, what an Asshole.

[ZombieHorde]

1. Yet his policies will make that even more difficult. nt

[trailmonkee]

45. your link is fun - thanks

[ZombieHorde]

61. You're welcome. If you know any kids, they will probably like it too.

I know my kids like it.

[trailmonkee]

68. If they included a scale of the band 'One Direction' I am sure my 15 year old daughter would like it

[BlueStreak]

73. So every family needs a 49-percenter?

[LynneSin]

2. It would be helpful if one of those parents made millions each year and paid 13% taxes on it

Unfortunately the rest of the world has to work.

[Caeser67]

3. Preferable yes,

Possible, no.

[skeewee08]

19. So true Caeser67

[Iris]

86. Preferable to whom?

There are many families for whom that may not be preferable.

[Heather MC]

4. Well Finally he said something that applied to me that was positive

I am a stay at home, but I keep accidently getting work. hee hee
still won't vote for him.
But I do agree it's better but not everyone can do it. and it hasn't always been easy for us. but daycare in Northern VA avg is $350 - $425 a week! There was no way I could afford to go to work. All my money would go to daycare

[CoffeeCat]

16. I'm a stay-at-home mom too...

...and Mitt Romney can suck it.

And as a SAHM, I don't say "suck it" very often. But there you have it. He brings out the worst in me. What can I say?

[Heather MC]

20. I think his ignorance and blind desire to be president just because he wants to be is dangerous

The is no clear reason why he wants to be President, there is no passion, he just wants to be incharge. but that's a terrible reason to want to Run an entire country and oversee several other countries around the world.
I know I am preaching to the Choir, Robme scares me more than Bush.

Because he is not even hiding the fact that he will be a willing puppet for the behind the scenes ass hole that run this country but don't have the balls to show their face
I said bad words on the computer b/c as a mother I can't say them out loud LOL

[emmadoggy]

35. I don't think he really even cares about being in charge -

I think he just wants prestige and glory and thinks that it is the only next step up for a man of his position in society.

I think he is so arrogant that he thinks it is "owed" to him. Remember the quote where Ann (I think) said, "It's our turn now." I think they believe they are entitled to it simply because they are rich and have the right "pedigree".

[Heather MC]

47. It's that Mormon Great White Hype er Hope belief

He said the economy will get better without him having to do anything because he is president. LOL

[Arugula Latte]

5. A more preferable ratio is one parent and five servants, of course.

[Celebration]

23. Duzy!

love it

[madrchsod]

6. in the world he lives in thats doable...

but in the real world it ain`t...

[slackmaster]

7. That was feasible when I was growing up

Now, for most families it really isn't.

[Lucy Goosey]

8. He just doesn't have a fucking clue, does he?

He just doesn't even know that staying home is simply not financially viable for many (most?) families, does he?

I could handle him saying this sort of thing if he was in favor of policies that actually helped the working poor, but obviously he doesn't.

Is it true that the US doesn't even have paid maternity leave? That might be a good place to start. (I'm Canadian. We get 50 weeks of unemployment insurance; 15 weeks of maternity leave and 35 weeks of parental leave, the latter of which can be divided between the parents as they choose. Some employers also offer some degree of mat leave top-up as part of their benefits packages.)

[subterranean]

22. Yes, that's true about paid maternity leave in the U.S.

The U.S. is the only developed country with no national law requiring paid parental leave (a few states have their own laws). If you include all countries, we're one of only four without such a law, placing us in the company of Liberia, Swaziland and Papua New Guinea.

[SomeGuyInEagan]

24. I think he definitely has a clue ...

Hell, I think all of the "leaders" (business, political, etc.) who helped to create the mess we are in now had a clue. I just don't think any of them care - they got their own wealth and power and that is what matters most to them.

Helping create a better company, community, world .... where's the profit in that? Class warfare has been going on for decades in the U.S.

[spirit-soul]

82. Sounds like you're the clue-challenged person...

First of all, what is the point of making children if you plan to work? Don't give me that song and dance about needing two incomes. There have been plenty of middleclass families who have been forced to do just that, due to the economic downturn. And they have made it because it COSTS LOTS OF MONEY TO WORK! Unless you have a job that pays over $15 or 20K, it really doesn't make much sense to work due to the costs of daycare, work expenses like transportation, lunches, clothes, etc. However, one-parent families that make only that amount can get subsidies.

Many people COULD have one person staying home if they did without a second car, lived in a cheaper place, did without the luxuries that they seem to think are basic necessities. Most people don't want to actually raise their kids. Sad, but true.

[Autumn]

9. Agree, but much better to have extremely wealthy parents.

You know, the kind that can give you stock so life isn't so fucking hard. Ones that make sure you and your spouse can go to college and not have it so darn rough, ones that can make sure you don't start out in debt up to your eyeballs and can make sure you don't go to war.




Fuck you you ass wipe.

[sinkingfeeling]

10. Well, that's what Ann did, so why doesn't every mother?

[olddad56]

11. Mittsy, come spend a month in the real world....

Mitt should have to work in a auto factory and commute a hour each way for a month or so. Just a month in a common person's reality.

[FailureToCommunicate]

12. Sure, but which parent?? Which mansion??

[krispos42]

13. If this is to be our national policy...

...then labor costs and other items must be orientated AWAY from corporate profits and towards this goal.


Suck on that, Romney!

[Journeyman]

27. Excellent post. That's the only answer. . .

[JoePhilly]

14. Translation: Women need to know their place.

[Quantess]

49. Yes, it was a sexist dog whistle.

We can better believe he doesn't mean a stay-at-home dad.

[appleannie1]

15. It is also important that they have shelter and food A-hole.

[AllyCat]

17. OK so a single parent has to work to not be a deadbeat/moocher

but is expected to be home at the same time with little kids? Cloning? Is that the correct answer?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Vote for Obama so that Romney gets to stay at home. nt

[RevStPatrick]

21. You know, it used to be fun making fun of this douchenugget...

But it's not anymore.
No fun at all.
It's gotten so that it's just frikkin' sad.
Day after day after day after day of stupid, totally clueless things that come out of this man's mouth.
Every single frikkin' day it's something else.


The bright spot is that, partly thanks to Mittington Romneyford's sheer idiocy, we are witnessing the beginning stages of taking the super-rich down a few notches. The status-quo is not going to last much longer. People around the world are wising up to the fact that these people simply are not "our betters" and for the most part are clueless as to how most people live. Hopefully the revolution won't be too bad when it comes, but come it will. People simply will not stand for this much longer...

[brush]

25. Keep talking, Mitt

His handlers must be going crazy. Every time he opens his mouth something stupid and out of touch comes out. This remark about one parent should stay at home is maybe the norm for people who can borrow money from their parents to start a business or for people who like to fire people who work for them, but for most Americans nowadays you need two people working just to maintain. Single parents, of which there are millions have it even harder. Mitt, please get a clue! No wait, please don't. The election is close and every time you say something stupid the President's chances get better.

[barbtries]

26. way to alienate a whole other segment of the population.

i'm thinking the borowitz report was more true than intended.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2012/09/romney-in-final-push-to-alienate-remaining-voters.html

[central scrutinizer]

28. my mother was a stay at home parent

but the only way she was able to do this was through public assistance. My father died when I was 6 and my sister was 2. He was a WWII vet so my mom was able to make it on veteran's benefits and social security survivor benefits. This was in the 1950s and 60s, which the Repugs look so fondly back to (with marginal tax rates on millionaires of 90%). There used to be a sense of shared responsibility. Maybe because that generation came through the Great Depression and WWII and realized that without community, it is a jungle out there.

With today's punitive welfare rules, a single mother must take any job she can get even if she ends up spending almost all of her wages on child care. Once again showing that Repugs are pro-birth, but once that little brat is out of the womb, they couldn't care less.

[HockeyMom]

32. My Grandpa died in 1932

My Mom was 12 and my Uncle 8. None of those programs were around in those days. Grandma had to go out and work. Fortunately, my Mom was 12. She had to run the house, cook, babysit her little brother after school, while Grandma worked as a Nanny and Maid. Yes, she worked for the likes of the Romney's in NYC then.

Although neither Mom nor my Uncle not having a father around grew up to be "criminals", I do think having to be a real life Mommy at 12 affected my Mom. When she did marry at 28, she only had me. "One is enough for me", she always said. Knowing what her early life was like, I fully understood.

[olddad56]

53. the wife must stay home, she must be barefoot, pregnant and have dinner on the table..

when the man comes home from a hard day in the factory. Oh wait, the factory has been shut down, the job outsourced to China and the man has no place to go all day. Okay the man must stay home with the kids and the wife can look for work. But we really have to do something about letting the wife vote. If we don't, they are gonna want a voice, or worse yet, they are going to want to vote for progress.

[spirit-soul]

81. What about lessening the number of single-parent families?

You act like every single mother is a widow. Let's get real here--there is a serious dysfunction in the family unit when you see so many single mothers heading households.

All Romney said is that it is better to have a parent at home. Who in their right mind thinks a young child would rather be in daycare?!

[Iris]

85. Actually, I know quite a lot of kids who like daycare.

They call it school but when they are home on the weekends, they ask to go.

[WestCoastLib]

29. I completely disagree

To be honest, I don't at all believe the premise that it's "better".

My wife and I both work. We could also afford having only one of us work, in lieu of daycare. However, we have had our daughter (now 5) in daycare since she was about 6 months old 4 days a week (one day with Grandma).

Now, we are lucky enough to be able to afford a good daycare / preschool that I realize many other people can't. However, what we've noticed is that our daughter advanced quicker socially and intellectually, as compared to friends kids of ours that did stay home.

Again, I realize its a bit of an apples to oranges comparison, and certainly for single parents or families with lower class incomes where a real quality preschool / daycare isn't a option having a parent home might be better than the daycare environment they are in. But, I find the premise a little insulting to those of us that have the means, but have made the choice to have our kids start school/environment socializing early.

Personally I would love to be a stay at home Dad (if we went that route, that's what we'd do, because my wife makes more than me). It would be great for my daughter, great for me and my personal enjoyment. But I work so that we CAN send her to get the quality of preschooling that she gets (1/3 of my salary goes to it), and she's incredibly better off for it, IMO. She walked early, talked early, began learning a second language at a young age, learned her letters early, understands basic math early, excels in social situations already and has advanced in ways that I never could have given her at home.

So, yes, we got there by financial means, but I believe even many lower budget daycares / preschool environments are also beneficial to kids. It definitely helps their social development, which in the long run is arguably more important than intelligence. And it was obvious, with our daughter at least, that she developed early in many areas because she was always attempt to catch up to the kids that were a little bit older than her.

As with most things in life, there are pros and cons. The idea that its "better" to stay at home is false. There are benefits to being able to stay at home, and there are benefits to having your young children be schooled early.

[Kber]

33. Thank you WCL!

My husband and I are in the same boat (including the fact that if one of us stayed home, it would be him, not me) and the fact is quality day care can make a world of positive difference.

So does modeling what having a rewarding career (that you actually enjoy) looks like. Believe me, if either of us didn't like our jobs, we'd arrange our lived differently.

Like you I'm consious of the fact that we are blessed to be able to make that choice, and in fact at different times in our marriage either he or I have stayed home for a few years, but I can't honestly say our kids have, in balance, suffered as a result of our working.

So in inclusion, fuck you Mitt for 1) being so judgemental and 2) being so clueless.

[hamsterjill]

39. Well said, and you make a great point!

I'm the mother of a 29 year old, who started going to daycare when she was 5 weeks old.

My circumstances (financially) were different than you describe, but I've never regretted ONE SINGLE TIME having put her in daycare at such a young age. As you indicate, my daughter walked early, talked early, and was educated early. When it was time to start kindergarten, she had no issue being separated from me because she was used to a schedule. She was ahead of most of the other children academically at that time, and she stayed ahead throughout her educational years.

Like you, I used every resource available to check out the daycare and I had her in a good one. And I watched them throughout her upbringing to make sure their standards did not diminish. I was a very involved parent, and my weekends were spent with my daughter.

Personally, I think it is a parent's decision as to how they wish to raise their children, but I know my daughter benefited greatly from early exposure to the world at large.

She is now, as I said, 29 years old. She graduated from college with honors, is happily married now, and has a job where she has been promoted several times in a short period of time. As her mom, I am very proud of her, and proud of the decisions that I made about her upbringing.

Again, it is the parent's preference, but I will not stand by and let some rich politician condemn me for making a parenting decision that may be contrary to what he feels is correct. I'm really tired of Mitt's personal insults.

[Mass]

57. Thanks a lot.

[Iris]

87. well-said

I really dislike the assumption that everyone agrees that having someone home with a child is preferable.

[cemaphonic]

89. I'm a stay-at-home-dad, and I agree with this.

I'm really glad and grateful that we've been able to make it work. But I know lots of families with small children in daycare, and most kids really thrive in that sort of environment (although it depends greatly on the quality of the daycare situation, and the good ones are expensive). And even though it's fun to mock Ann Romney for bragging about staying at home while using nannies, I know quite a few families where both parents are professionals with long and unpredictable working hours, for whom nannies are the only real option. My mother-in-law nannied a few kids in her retirement too. Good nannies are golden, and a great option for many families.

And early education is important, whether you work or are at home. My son was at preschool for 3 years - being at home allowed us to do a co-op preschool, which was a great experience that we are repeating with our daughter.

Like you say, every option has benefits and disadvantages.

[Iliyah]

30. If you can afford for one parent to be home without

worrying about food, rent, house payment, car payments, insurance, healthcare, food, clothing, utilities, et al., and I did mention food twice for a reason. nourishment and H20 errrrrrr possible need for FOOD STAMPS. Making $20,000 and pay no federal income tax but other taxes. Hey Mittens, I don't think you have paid federal incomes say in 2009, prove it!

[bushisanidiot]

31. Romney and his rose colored glasses, thinks everyone was born to wealthy parents just like he was

what a frickin' MORON!

[Brickbat]

34. So bring back the living-wage jobs and foster unions in the workplace and see what happens.

[bamacrat]

36. And the best way to ensure that everyone can go to college is to have rich parents.

You know doors just open when mom and dad can pull out their check book. Man this dud really has his finger on the pulse of working America doesn't he?

[lalalu]

37. Do we have to wear pearls and high heels too?

Will someone please put Mitt on an airplane with no windows.

[barnabas63]

38. Ooooooh........nt

[SmittynMo]

40. It seems apparent to me, this guy is totally clueless as to the real world around him.

With his new tax structures and policies, the 63.9% will be over 80%, just so families can live paycheck to paycheck. Yeah, it would be great if parents could stay at home and raise their kids, but the reality is, it isn't happening. He needs to buy several vowels. What an idiot. And, windows in planes still don't go down.

[SunSeeker]

41. Oh reeeeeally? Then why the nannies while Ann's out with the horses, Mitt?

[TrogL]

42. I'm old. I remember when one parent stayed at home. Raygun pretty much put a stop to that.

He destroyed the economy so bad and prices went to high compared to wages everybody had to go out and get multiple jobs just to keep their heads above water.

[PSPS]

43. The financial imperative that both parents work to make ends meet has been a fixture since Reagan.

But this is what one expect from an entitled billionaire who has staff on hand to do everything. I suppose if he were asked how a typical household with children could survive financially on one breadwinner, he'd repeat his earlier bit of wisdom: "Just borrow money from your parents."

[bkkyosemite]

44. My mom stayed home with four kids

and my dad had a blue collar job...but...he made enough to support us because the dollar in the 1950's bought a lot more than it does today. Mitt go soak your head...

[Brigid]

71. "Go soak your head!"

My dad used to say that!

Just for that, you win the internet for the day.

[progressivebydesign]

46. Sorry asshole. But when the GOP declared war on the middle class, both parents had to go to work.

There was a time, where people could do just that if they chose to. They could have a parent at home. Until I was 12, my Mom was at home while my Dad worked. It was a great situation for us.

There was a time when someone's job in America could afford a family that luxury (it wasn't even a luxury.) And you could rent or own a nice little home, take a vacation once a year, and have retirement income. Your kids could go to college.

That changed when corporate america and the GOP got their hooks into us in the 80s, and it will never come back. Now China and India have a burgeoning middle class, while America has the greatest wealth divide in history. The richest in America can afford to stay home with their kids, but ironically, they hire people to take care of them instead.

[SoapBox]

48. Oh...My...Gawd! SO freak'n out of touch.

Wow...what a 1950's fantasy...Father Knows Best...Leave it to Beaver...she's at home, barefoot and pregnant...lifestyle he dreams of.

Nice dream Gov. Idiot but life today, in 2012, doesn't work that way.

SO out of touch with the "real" world.

[harmonicon]

50. Good idea. How's he going to fund this program to pay for parents...

to stay home for six years per-child? That seems like it would be really expensive.

[oldsarge54]

51. No shyte sherlock

However, in my efforts to try to figure out what is middle class, it seems that the new norm IS two income families in order to achieve middle class status. It has been that way since the mid-late 80s. Very few jobs provide sufficient income to support a stay at home parent. Romney really, really doesn't connect to the new reality for most Americans.

[winstars]

55. Your words were my words after reading the headline. He is a real Albert Einstein!!!

Unfortunately, most people need both parents to work, what an asshole he is. As a matter of fact, he give assholes a bad name.

[surrealAmerican]

52. So, that must mean he favors a generous ...

... guaranteed paid family leave policy, like they have in Sweden - where parents get paid for up to three years to stay home with their children?


Yeah, I didn't think so.

A lot of parents want to stay home with their young children. Far fewer, even in two-parent families, can afford to.

[ellie]

54. What a fucking delusional asshole.

[liberal N proud]

56. Our girls grew up with working parents, they are just fine and very independent.

They are much more world smart and socially capable than those who are home schooled.

[Mass]

58. I disagree with him.

Of course, it would be better off if parents could spend more time with their children, but it goes for BOTH parents, not only the mother. And this requires that jobs are family-friendly, which they are not anymore.

Now, if somebody wants to stay home and take care of the kids, freely and without society pressure, fine, but please stop the pressures. This is not the 50s and 60s anymore. (and,as many have said previously, it is also often impossible financially speaking).

[wutang77]

59. Does anyone remember the Alec Baldwin political sketch on Snl

Where he plays a candidate who keeps doing and saying horrible things, Mitt Romney reminds me of him.

[pangaia]

60. A slightly different opinion, probably, than most.

I agree 100% about this ignorant, self-centered borg.(Is that a word.)
No problems there.
My wife and I are as liberal as they come.

But, I do believe, and my wife believes, that there is a very strong emotional/psychological connection between a new born child and its mother that, if possible, should not be broken so quickly - a relationship that is closer to the mother in the first few years than the father.

We have a modest income. We are neither 'comfortable' nor uncomfortable but must work hard and not slouch off.

We discussed this for months before the birth. I am 20 years older than she, have my own small business. She has had a varied career due to her many interests- real estate, photography, East Asian Studies, Chinese Linguistics, Language and Literature. etc. (she is Chinese). I am now 68. Whew!!

When our daughter was born, some years ago, we decided that my wife would stay home to help strengthen this bond we both felt was very important. She felt this strongly and we felt with the loss in income for a few years, it was worth the effort.
Even when our daughter was born, it was at home, with a mid-wife and I present. In a dark room. We kept our daughter in a quiet, low light level environment for one week. Little by little 'emerging' if that word helps describe our efforts.
My wife 'stayed at home' for almost 5 years. Of course, she didn't "stay home 24/7." She did work some after the first 2 years, sometimes from home, other times out. And I would stay home at times as well. So we obviously shared the upbringing of our new child.

But the point is we wanted to make that strong maternal connection first, since it was there from the beginning. Sure, I was there constantly and a good, close, caring father, I hope.. As she grew older I became, I guess I could say ...a growing influence on her.
It's difficult to express correctly but we felt I think that at a very young age the mother/child connection was a bit more important and as our daughter grew older the father/child connection grew.

Anyway..when re-reading this it doesn't sound as clear in print as it was to us so please forgive me.
Our daughter is now a young adult, very well balanced, I hope, and with many of her own interests.. mostly artistic. But she also is very interested in the world, different cultures. swimming, astrophysics(where did THAT come from?) and she has learned Arabic in the year since we returned from Oman. I couldn't ask for more for her.

Caveat--
My only deep regret is that she has no interest whatsoever in baseball..a short coming I now see may have a dilatory, if not even a permanent, effect on her truly understanding the American psyche. I certainly didn't plan on that !... :&gt

[trailmonkee]

64. My Daughter has been raised (she's now 15) by her stay home mother and am happy to say...

that we made the best choice we could have possibly made... she is grounded, happy and smart. My issue with Romney is that he shows no concern or care for those who cannot make the same choice that we did. My Mom had no choice but to leave us at home while she worked... she would have stayed home at the drop of a hat if she had that choice. The article I posted states that 63.9% of Mothers work away from home... I am certain that most of them would change that if they could... but they Can't.... and the fact is Romney's statement does nothing more than make those Mothers who can't stay home feel like shit. If he says something like that and has no solutions or even a desire to help make things better for families, that shows me that his statement can serve nothing other than himself. That's why I think this is one of the most Assholey (yes that's a word) things he hs ever said, because it serves nobody... and does nothing to forward loving-kindness and compassion.

[olddad56]

66. When I was very young, about 3, my parents abandoned me....

at the state fair and I was subsequently raised by a pack of wild corn dogs. I turned out fine except that, to this day, I can't eat any food that comes on a stick.

[trailmonkee]

70. Rick Perry just ate your mom....

and Michele Bachmann, is um, well..... doing something that is 'not' eating your dad..

[yurbud]

62. great--what is he going to do to make this possible? Probably make it even harder

[Kteachums]

63. Is he going to redistribute his wealth so one parent can stay home?

[Denise21]

65. Tan

Hey RoMney what happened to your tan it's not there anymore....try to fool spanish speaking people with your tan. TO LATE SO SAD

[BlueToTheBone]

67. Unemployed people tend to have to stay home...so

let's make more unemployed people.

[Stuart G]

69. I am glad he said this...cause it again shows how off base he is..nt.

[Bozita]

72. ... and some horses in the yard out back?

[DBoon]

74. Romney: It’s better to be wealthy

what he meant to say

[LeftyMom]

75. Which home did Ann stay in, exactly?

[nycbiscuit]

76. keep 'em barefoot and pregnant! N/T

[rks306]

77. Most couples would agree

One problem, everybody isn't rich. Without Reagan voo-doo economics middle class person would be making $100,000. If that was happening onne parent could stay home.

[Rhiannon12866]

78. Yeah, like he and Ann were, when their youngest son had a little friend stay overnight.

My Romney Sleepover
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101761154

[lunatica]

79. Can't you see Romney is offering us Utopia?!

Geez people...

[gopiscrap]

80. Yeah it would be nice to have a parent at home but the Repukes

have spent the past 31+ years fucking over the poor and the middle class to the point that they have to have to be a two income family..God, I hate Romney's piuous smarmy attitude!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

83. Robme: It’s better to have a parent at home...

...unless they're GAY!!

[Scairp]

84. It's so much better for the family to go hungry

So one parent can stay home for the first five years of a kid's life. And anyway, why is it the mother should always be the one to stay home? If the female parent makes more money or has a job that provides superior health insurance then the man should stay home and take care of the kids and the house until they are all in school. Mittens is such a douchebag.

[Iris]

88. I don't think family decisions should be labeled preferable or not preferable.

Each family is different. There is not a cookie-cutter formula for having a healthy family. To suggest that there is only ONE way to raise children is a huge disservice to...well... everyone.