For more parents, 3 kids are a charm Professional, educated women lead the trend

USA Today ^ | 3-11-04 | Haya El Nasser

[truthandlife]

Graphic designer Aimee Martini is 31, works full time and has three children.

Lawyer Jessica Lerner, 38, quit her Justice Department job to raise three kids.

Jane Johnston, 39, a senior tax manager at a large accounting firm, works part time to have more time for her three children.

[X-Servative]

Another "It's all about me!" article.

[luckymom]

This "marriage historian", Coontz, gave me the first clue when she said ''The rules will never be the same.'' It wasn't married mothers of three that changed things... Then she showed her true colors in the last two lines: ''Women who have been able to get a good education and a good job have more choices than almost anywhere in the world. The bad news is that this is confined to a very small segment of the population.'' As a college grad and mother of three 20-somethings, I knew I did the best for my family by staying home with them. I never for a moment thought my degree was wasting away...

[sphinx]

''I am a woman in a profession where everyone wants a woman,'' she says. ''I was able to say to my all-male partners, 'I'm going to work these hours.' They couldn't say anything.''

In a perfect world, everyone would have this kind of flexibility. A large segment of the workforce is drifting this way already. I am not afraid of letting people make their own tradeoffs on income vs. time off.

It's just sad that organized labor and their puppet-on-a-string dems are so opposed to rationalizing the benefit structure, liberalizing flextime and comp time arrangements, and liberating workers from the Sacred Dogma of the 40 Hour Week.

[Professional Engineer]

ping

[Rhetorical pi2]

You gotta be kidding!!! Is there really a "Co-chair of the Council on Contemporary Families"? Who would have thought of that?

''We're undergoing a gender and family revolution,'' says Stephanie Coontz, a marriage historian and national co-chair of the Council on Contemporary Families, a non-profit association of family researchers. ''The rules will never be the same.''

Jeez!! I gotta come up with a serious-sounding and impressive name (It must have council in it!)get a small cubby hole of an office, a fax machine, phone and PC, and then get my meaningless thoughts published!!

[nobody_knows]

"I am a woman in a profession where everyone wants a woman,'' she says. ''I was able to say to my all-male partners, 'I'm going to work these hours.' They couldn't say anything."

She works in the porn industry.

[Tax-chick]

''I felt the choice was right for me at the time,'' she says.

I propose this as the one-sentence epitaph of all "modern" women.

[Rubber_Duckie_27]

Interesting article. My fiance and I plan on at least three or four children, if we are so blessed. Yes, I will continue at my career and he'll either work from home part-time or be a full-time dad.

Both of us are from 2-children families, while our parents all have 2 or more siblings. As an adult, I now wish I had another sibling or two (although I recognize that wouldn't have been medically possible for my parents). Larger families are a blessing - for both kids and parents. As long as you can afford to raise a large family - both in terms of money and time - then we see no reason to NOT have more than 1 or 2 kids.

You'll find that more young working women WANT to have both family and a career, and more and more companies offer flextime and other perks that are attractive to working moms and dads.

[TwoBear]

3 and another on the way! Whoo Hooo! We have some friends with 5 and another on the way. It's in the wather down here in Appalachia!

[TwoBear]

That would be water. Some of us do know how to spell!

[stevio]

We're mainly having more kids so there are more Christian, gun toting conservatives. ;^)

[MediaMole]

Lerner, the Yale Law School graduate who quit her high-powered job to raise three kids.... ''I will never litigate again.''

A positive development.

[Tax-chick]

We're mainly having more kids so there are more Christian, gun toting conservatives

Good for you! I have seven ... well, one is too young to tote a gun yet :-).

[Lorianne]

Here here.
If you're worth it, you can set your own terms. No different than asking for a raise.

[Jim Noble]

''We're undergoing a gender and family revolution,'' says Stephanie Coontz, a marriage historian and national co-chair of the Council on Contemporary Families, a non-profit association of family researchers. ''The rules will never be the same.''

What a crock.

[Mamzelle]

LOL--Step up and give the benefit of your experience, Jim! And how is your tiny crew doing?

[eyespysomething]

I have 3 boys, 8, 4 and 2.

I work full time.

I have a very flexible, family-friendly job. Since most of my work is on the computer, I can work from home if need be, my husband is also in a very flexible job. He tends to be able to get the boys after school/daycare more days during the week than I (he is also closer), and can do work from the house also.