Women can get criticized for staying at home…or working, both ways.My wife started full time work for the first time since we married, a lot of women are offering condolences as much as congratulations. I think most two working parent families wish someone could stay home with the really young kids. After they are 9 or 10 , it doesn’t hurt the kids one bit to spend more time in after school stuff with other kids from school. In some cases it’s a great benefit. They would be doing that at each others houses anyway. They start becoming more independent quickly(on their way to kicking us to the curb)

The problem with part time work with no out of school childcare is that it is difficult for many people to find anything decent on that schedule. We were really lucky that my wife’s part time work gave benefits and paid o.k. Also if the working parents job is unstable thats going to be terrifying and both are going to want to work ….just in case…It’s not an easy balancing act.

The only thing I find awkward is play dates.I don’t , and I think most men wouldn’t usually want young children not our own over at the house when the wife is not there.The exception is closer friends. Usually moms handle all of this….we are not in the habit of spending much time in parks at the beach or whatever with other people wives or with single moms. So if the mom can’t handle it , it either cuts into play date options,
or you just break with tradition : ). Usually women handle all the interactions with the primary schools which involves almost all women, teachers, staff and volunteers, again….break tradition. Men just don’t normally participate much in any female dominated aspect of this world.