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The hustle that is parenthood
(lemmy.nz)
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this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2026
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Oh yeah... Parenthood.... Real easy. We're doing it for the work breaks.
This tweet is not advocating for removing the breaks for parents, it's advocating for also giving the same breaks to everyone. Same as with smoke breaks.
It's healthy to take small breaks every once in a while, and every worker should have access to them. You shouldn't need to have a kid or an addiction to enjoy your breaks.
Hell, I myself take smoke breaks and I have never smoked.
People should be able to take breaks and get time off regardless of addictions or dependents. Crazy concept.
So parents should get extra time off to make up for the fact that their “breaks” are often spent caring for their children.
In which case people will complain and say they should fake being parents to get the extra time off.
No. How you choose to spend your free time is your thing. Some people decided not to have kids, maybe even for that exact reason. Some people decided to have kids, even though they knew kids would take away their time. It's just how everyone decides to spend their time, and there's nothing wrong with it.
Caring for other people is not a “decision”, it is care. That’s like saying looking after an elderly parent or disabled family member is simply the way people wish to spend their free time.
Equity matters, not equality. Not everyone’s circumstances are the same, and if we have decided everyone deserves a break we need to realise those who spend their time caring for others are not getting the same opportunity for an actual break.
But...it's not a break. It's because you have to take care of your child while you would really like to have some time just for yourself...like at work. Such a calm and relaxing environment. No you have to take your child from daycare, deal with it's tantrums, prepare food, clean the kitchen, somehow bring your child to sleep and then, finally! If you are lucky you might have 1 hour free time before you fall asleep on the couch. Oh wait! What about the laundry? And shouldn't you take a shower again? You don't even remember when was the last time you showered. Time flies by so fast. Anyways you wake up at 3 am because your child is puking.
Trust me, with children you don't "take breaks" from work. Work is the break.
Its time away from your employers needs.
How you choose to spend it is ykur call.
But once you have kids you have no choice. It's either you have these "breaks" or not be able to work at all
The choice was having kids in the first place.
And having kids means you shouldn't work?
Nobody is saying that. Just that people without kids should also have more time off work.
But then what's the point of this discussion? What does it has to do with people having kids that you want more time off? Just demand this then independent of the fact that sometimes people with kids get some special treatments because otherwise they wouldn't even be able to work.
I think someone missed the point (i agree with you, of course)
But lemme guess "having children is the most rewarding thing in life". In this day and age if you don't know that's what comes with having kids, you aren't smart enough to have kids. Unfortunately for those of us who consciously decide to avoid all that shit, we are forced to pick up the slack because you made a choice without understanding the consequences.
Further, this is the childfree comm. Don't like getting called out, ignore the fucking comm or block it.
If this community is only about circlejerk and amplifying your own views you are free to ban me.
I didn't felt called out. Just wanted to incite some understanding and empathy.
But what's your solution to this? Nobody should have children? Why sow envy and hatred instead of advocating for solutions where people with children are able to work as well?
What was the point of bitching about how much work having children are? What's the solution?
It's just venting. Do you want us coming into a parenting comm and deriding you for complaining about your kids?
But you did make a choice, and often, people without kids are viewed as the solution rather than pushing back against the system that forces you to need that solution. There's stories of parents fully expecting childfree people to sacrifice their free time for the sake of parents as if they were obligate babysitters or able to cover at a job or whatever. We get to bitch and moan about that stuff. Just like you get to bitch and moan about the downsides of having children.
Good point
It is all about status. Parenting is hard, most adult people understand it. That is why people tend to give them "breaks that are not really breaks". If you want those "breaks" go get yourself a toddler. Bitching about timeoff which is not really timeoff. Go get a grip. If parents start to offload constantly their job onto you that is different question. If not then mind your own business. Childfree? more like childish
Collective child care and the abolition of the nuclear family?
its not even work "breaks". Work was always easier than dealing woth the kid. If youre getting called out of work, sometging is obviously not gone to plan, and dealing with that adds more stress. Id rather just be unbothered at work.
This shaming shit is garbage. second or third time ive seen this childfree comm come up, this place is so lame. be childfree, do it. I was supposed to myself, but blaming parents and shit stirring is so fuckin stupid. This some reddit level garbage.
...BUT we clearly arent blaming parents .
We are blaming the billionairss and politicians who have structured our modern work hours and modern economies. Wot are you on about? Did I miss something?
No War But Class War.
Was a great saying when it was only used in reference to fighting literal wars.
These days it reeks of class reductionism and anti-intersectionality.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_reductionism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality
Anything talking about modern humans that doesnt reduce iit down to a class issue is ignored by default by me. My brain doesnt work any other way Ive found sadly.
That is not the tone of like half the comments I'm seeing, just in this post. A lot of "snarky" backbiting towards people speaking up for parenting needs. "You chose to be a parent, so why should you get special accomodations for that?"-type of attitudes.
and the funny thing about snarky comments like that is that there are A LOOOOT of people on the planet who literally dont have any other option but to become a parent.
Sterilizations, birth controls, protections from S Assaults, abortions are not universally available worldwide . ALSO there's a stupidly high number lf cultures that persecute and prosecute a childfree person soo....
On another note, why cant we live in a world where such things ARE universally available to any adult who asks for them? And one where a person is not given the death penalty for simply choosing to remain childfree?
Theres a real peace that i feel every monday morning when i sit down at my desk at work
Your literacy needs work.