Post 3

All in the family-While reading this article I was slightly puzzled at some times and at others I was amused. In reviewing this article there was some phrases that stuck out, one being "The more attached a man is to the size of his paycheck, the more difficult the transition will be" says Coontz. This stuck out to me because, it reflects on how a man views his masculine duties in life. From a young age men are told they have to pay for everything when out with a women, and many years ago most woman did not work. I believe in a man's mind the size of his paycheck determines how well he can take care of his family and it determines his success. While I disagree with that statement and believe your own person happiness is a reflection of your success, I am sure to some this is not the case. Another phrase that stuck out to me was "my entire self-image pretty much got shattered" Ron Mattocks. I never quite thought about how a man builds self confidence/image. Other than looks what else do they base it off of? I believe many find confidence in their looks, families, jobs, woman and financial state. Comparing a nontraditional nuclear family and a traditional modern family I believe they both have equal opportunities to succeed. The depression and realization might me tough for a man when he realizes he will not be "bringing home the bacon", but once the family gets adjusted it sounds like a great opportunity for a father to see the daily life of a stay at home mom.

While reading this I did find this article amusing because I have a slightly swayed opinion, my father was a "stay at home mom" while my mother worked. I grew up with this lifestyle and I can say the article is accurate. I live in a white-picket-fence neighborhood where my dad was the ONLY stay at home dad out of over 100 houses. My dad would wake me up for school in the morning pack me lunch (it was never a good one) walk me to the bus stop then would continue to work around the house, do laundry and clean. When we came home we had till 4:00 to relax and have a snack then he would sit down with my sister and I to do homework. My mom would have left by the time we were woken up for school and would come home shortly after 4:00. Dinner in my house was a group effort between the four of us. Then my parents alternated daily who put the kids to bed and told the bed time story. There was some strengths my dad had that my mom didn't, like punctuality. I rarely missed the bus and he was always there when the bus was dropping us off. My mom was better at laundry, but my dad was way better at telling bed time stories. Bottom line is I enjoyed reading this article because it was like I was reading about my life, My family turned out just fine, my house was filled with just as much love as the one next door.