Harsh? Yeah.
Baloney. My husband is an Orthodox rabbi, not much income. I stayed at home with 5 kids and then went back to work full-time while the other 4 came along.
I never left any of my kids to suffocate in a hot car, and the result of Alouette's own personal "daycare" study, there is not significant difference, once grown to adulthood, between the kids sent to daycare and the kids who stayed home with mommy.
There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between leaving your child with alternative caretakers so that you can support the family and LEAVING YOUR CHILD TO SUFFOCATE IN A HOT CAR.
If you can't tell the moral difference, you have no business being in ministry.
You totally misunderstand what I'm saying. In fact, you prove the point that a family with children can make it on one relatively low income. My response that you commented on was directed to someone who implied that it was *necessary* to have a second income when there are kids in the home. Here's what that person said:
"Some people do not have the affluence to take months off of work to care for a small one."
Were you "affluent" when you raised 5 kids on one salary? Doubt it. But you did so because you felt working with them was more important than working outside the home.
What I'm saying is that it's not *necessary* for most women today to work outside the home if they don't really want to. They often choose to do so, though, to support their lifestyle, daycare expenses, and ancillary expenses. Some also choose to work outside the home to get away from the responsibility of raising the kids (which is difficult -- ask my wife).
Women who want to stay home with the kids should be presented with the facts -- that in most cases they can do so if they want.