Are jobs that require traveling good for parents?
By prinzess1515
@prinzess1515 (1341)
United States
August 25, 2008 11:48am CST
Should military jobs really be for people who don't have families of their own? I have several family members who spouses are gone most of the time. I always wonder how good is it really for the family and their marriage. Other than money coming in ever month, they are basically single moms who can't count of their husband for help really b/c of their job schedule.
This goes for any job that causes one parent to be gone several months at a time. What do you guys think?
3 responses
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I believe that it is ideal to have both parents present and actively involved in their children's lives. However, I also strongly believe that each person has the right to choose whatever career they want, and should not be told they can't do a certain job because they have children.
In the families where one parent is in the military or any other job that requires traveling, the husband and wife should make the decision together, and that if they both decide it is what they want, they should do it. You make it sound as if the husband makes the decision and the wife has no choice and is left high and dry.
@prinzess1515 (1341)
• United States
26 Aug 08
Oh no I don't think the other parent is just bailing out of anything. Even if husband and wife agree, what about the kids? Are they not entitled to an active parent? One they don't have to go months at a time without seeing them? It just seems strange for a parent to put themselves in this situation on purpose.
Military is also one of those kinds of jobs you just can't "quit". You are stuck there for atleast two years. What about if you got sent to war? Should parents be putting themselves in such a high risk when they have people depending on them?
@Sillychick (3275)
• United States
26 Aug 08
I don't think that this necessarily makes a parent a bad parent. I know plenty of parents who never travel but are not there for their children. They are more absent than a lot of parents who travel weekly or even for months at a time. Being home doesn't necessarily mean being available. And in this day and age of cell phones, email, web cams and instant messaging, they can stay in close contact.
Every family is different and makes the choices they feel are best for them. Who are we to judge the decisions others make without knowing them or their specific circumstances? I don't like it when people make sweeping judgments about me based on one fact they know about me.
@prinzess1515 (1341)
• United States
27 Aug 08
I don't think they are bad parents either. Also I don't think anyone should legally be denied a job because they have kids. I am just talking in general, are jobs that might send you away for 9 months to maybe even a year really a good idea for people with families?
@fatherblogger (673)
• Philippines
15 Sep 08
For me, it is best to avoid a career that requires being away from you children for a long time. Although the other parent is at home to guide the kids and internet has its own way to provide easy communication, I think this is not enough.
I believe that a child can be a better person someday if both of his parents are with him everyday as communication is always accessible. He can always have someone to run to, instead of friends.
Dinner time is the best time for my family because it is this time that we share each other what happened the whole day.
