quote:

ORIGINAL: erieangel

Yeah, like that Congressman, whathisname, Joe Walsh, who owes his ex-wife over $100,000 in back child support payment. He hadn't paid a penny in child support for several years, claiming he was broke, but was able to make a $30,000 donation to his own campaign fund to congress. And now, with his great job as a Congressman, he certainly isn't broke, but he hasn't been paying any child support in the past year, either.

Surely you don't mean dads like that?

quote:

ORIGINAL: kitkat105

It's possibly not a bad idea. I understand the cost of childcare/daycare is probably substantially cheaper in the US than in Australia.

In Australia, you have a few options to be a stay at home mother. If you are a single mother, while your children are under 5, you can get a social security payment for yourself & your child/ren. After 5 (and presumably school aged), they will help support you in getting an education (eg. subsidised courses) to get you into the workforce. Yes, unfortunately this program does get abused by people who keep having babies so they DON'T have to work.

Daycare/Childcare is slightly subsidised by the government but unless you are at a well paying job, most of your money will go to daycare. I know fellow coworkers who pay between $100-180/day for daycare/childcare.

My Mum was a stay at home mum.. unfortunately she was an 'unskilled worker' when she gave up her job to start a family. She has never really returned to the workforce even though her youngest is almost 18. Fortunately, my family managed, even if at some points it was paycheck-paycheck. I'm sure she would've gone back into the workforce if she had the confidence and skills necessary to do so. She was far from a stepford wife.

This might be the next best thing for some people who do not have access to paid parental leave.