-----Original Message-----
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu on behalf of Michael Edmiston
* * * Why the wife? * * *
Why is it assumed the wife stays at home? Well, around here that is not
necessarily the case. In the past decade I have known about as many men
that have stayed home with children as I have seen women, and I have
also seen quite a few cases where the two have split the child-rearing
job, each working half time and staying home half time.
The person who stays home is the one who has less pay or poorer
benefits, or the one who can take a leave of absence and still go back
to work a few years later. If they are equal in this regard, then it's
a toss up.
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This thread is getting a bit off-topic, butI feel compelled to make one comment here. You seem to have left out one important factor - who is better qualified at child-rearing! Or for that matter, who WANTS to stay home with the children. The care & wlefare of the children seems to be at the very bottom of your list of factors to consider, rather than up near (or at) the top. I expect that wasn't your intent, but that is the way it came out.
Now, certainly women don't hold a monopoly on child-rearing abilities, and the couple should consider a variety of factors when making decisions on childcare. Still, one of those factors is biology. It's not a toss up as to which parent can nurse the child. It's not a toss up as to which parent will be getting pregnant (which is a major medical event) if the couple has another child. Call me old-fashioned, but when "everything else" is equal, there is still a logical deciding factor between fathers and mothers staying home. Only when "evertything else" tips a bit toward the father will it be a toss up.