Another question from a mom -- Am I expecting too much?

MominSC
Posts: 1
Joined: 2010-08-13
Dad Points: 5

I've reviewed several threads, and I appreciate how open all of you are to questions from moms.  I would appreciate y'all's input, because I could really use some perspective from guys in my husband's shoes.

Here's my family's situation, in brief:  My husband and I have two kids, age 10 and 7.  I work full time (including some travel); he has a part time (<10 hours/week) job that he can do from home for the most part.  So, my husband is essentially a SAHD.  This is not so much by choice as by necessity; H has mental health issues (bipolar controlled with medication) and simply cannot handle the stress of full-time employment.  Switching roles (him as primary breadwinner, me as primary parent) is not an option.

H does all of the stuff that he *must* do--he picks the kids up from school and supervises homework, gets dinner on the table, handles Dr./dentist appointments (I also come to some appointments if they are non-routine, and I am the designated ER person b/c I can function in a crisis).  He does laundry.  He cleans the bathrooms (though not as often as I would like), and sometimes he will even vacuum or sweep the kitchen floor (though most often, he sweeps the crumbs to a spot at the base of the kitchen island and leave them there).  He will arrange the occasional play date for my older son and will take the boys to the pool or a movie on days they are out of school.

The problem is (from my perspective, at least), he only does the minimum he has to do to get by.  For example, the meals are the same every week (including McDonalds on Tuesdays and take-out pizza on Thursdays).  When I encourage him to try different things (I've bought him "easy" cookbooks and suggested dishes he might look into), it's always, "the kids won't eat it."  Any deep/thorough cleaning is done by me; any yard work (except for mowing the lawn every two weeks) is done by me; I organize anything social we do with other couples.  He has no hobbies, unless you count Facebook games (and inappropriate online chats with his female opponents) as a hobby.

Basically, his average day is as follows:  I take the kids to school (I do most of the work to get them up/dressed); he spends the morning on the computer and/or he'll go to work for a couple of hours and maybe work out at the Y.  He picks the kids up from school and supervises homework (I suspect this involves yelling to the kitchen from the computer room), then the kids play or watch TV (mostly the latter) while he's on the computer.  I get home, we have dinner; he gets back on the computer (are we sensing a theme?) and I handle post-dinner playtime and baths. 

I genuinely appreciate all of the things my husband does, but at the same time I am incredibly frustrated on a number of levels:

  1. How he parents the boys, and how I would parent them if I were the at-home parent, are very different.  I've tried to talk with him about things like limiting TV time, but he will not engage in a back and forth conversation ("This is how I feel about things, but I'm not the one who has to enforce the rules, so what do you think? What's reasonable?" gets no response, or he'll say he agrees with me and then not follow through).  Our older son has ADD, but he will not attempt any nutritional interventions (like avoiding foods with additives and dyes) that might help.  I understand that I can't make him parent exactly as I would, but he won't even discuss issues with me, or if he does he'll give lip service to what he thinks I want to hear and then go back to the usual.  So, I end up feeling that I have no say in how my children are being raised. 
  2. I get tired of doing most of the cleaning and all of the yard work.
  3. I don't expect him to become a gourmet chef.  If cooking is not his thing, that's fine.  But my mom hated cooking too, and she still managed to feed us at least a minimal variety of meals and to keep the junk food to a minimum. 
  4. The excessive amount of time he spends on the computer.  He tells me he does get bored, but he won't actually do anything about it.  For a while he was interested in woodworking and I encouraged him as much as I could.  I made a special effort to get home early so he could go to a meeting of the local guild--and then he decided not to go and has said nothing about it since then.  He won't play with the boys because he's "busy."

I am trying to be fair, and not to impose upon him the expectations I would have of myself if I were the stay at home parent.  But at the same time, I resent him for (a) squandering the opportunity to be home with his boys, and (b) making me work 60+ hours a week *and* do the heavy lifting when it comes to household work.

I am on the verge of asking for a divorce because I am so angry and miserable.  But what if I'm being unfair--what if I am making myself angry and miserable over nothing (or at least, nothing worth divorcing him over)?  Am I expecting too much?

Thanks in advice for any input you may have.

 




SAHPops
Posts: 13
Joined: 2009-01-21
Dad Points: 21
You've got a LOT to work on...

Wow.

It looks like you actually have a number of issues to deal with.  I don't think you'll find any easy answers for any of them, but if you tap into the skills of compartmentalization, you might be able to find answers to the smaller parts of the problem.

First, there is the (at best) a chance that the bipolar issue will slowly lessen as the years go by.  However, you are looking at YEARS.  For now, what re-direction skills can you ease him into?  For instance, one altered skill a week (one new dinner, one new project, etc).  Daily 'to do' lists might help, but I wouldn't go crazy.  Just list what he already does and add one or two new things here and there (small tasks).

Second, the computer thing might be a method of his emotional management.  However, to this (untrained / impersonal) point of view; he is trying to escape.  What is he escaping from?  The house?  The kids?  You?  His emotional well being?  Two things come to mind:  Make a deal in limiting his play time (again, slowly cutting back; a half-hour here and there).  The other thing might be doing your best to set emotions aside and really back-tracking his accounts / search history (just to get a pulse on where his head is at during the day).

Third, you have two kids to think about.  You are a few years away from puberty (and all the fun that it brings).  You are also a handful of years away from your children driving (or their friends, at any case).  How will your husband cope with that?  How will you cope with it?

Finally; if you choose to end the relationship, where does that leave you?  Think outside of his 'roll'.  Think about both of your families (grandparents / cousins / aunts and uncles): how far removed will everyone become?  If you are religious, what about your church support?  Can you relocate?  How do you think he will (with the bipolar issues) deal with it?  Then there is always the issues of your children.  They may have developed a routine or comfort level to his ability of parenting.  The shock of divorce (and resulting emotional strains on them) may create a wedge between them and yourself.  How capable are you in handling that? 

Jot it down.  Make lists.  Begin journalling your thoughts / ideas.  Find a working wives group (sometimes you might get lucky with a site like Meetup.com; it is a special interest socal group thing).  The best you can do is stay as calm as possible, be organized and treat yourself to a quiet glass of wine every once in a while.  The answers will come.  They may not be what you want, but the answers will come.

-Best wishes!



TopDog
Posts: 176
Joined: 2010-02-11
Dad Points: 188
Pretty Normal Situation

There's a lot to do as a stay at home dad.  Plus take care of the cars and the house.  This reads like he's doing a pretty good job.  Take him out to dinner. 



FAPPAH
Posts: 11
Joined: 2010-08-19
Dad Points: 23
I half agree with TopDog...

I agree that you should take him out to dinner. Every man subsists on being recognized for his achievements, even if they are minor (I mowed the lawn, go me, rawr!). As someone who fought his way out of depression, I also recognize that I couldn't have done it without the support of my wife. It was her encouragement of the little things that helped me get back on my productive feet. As simple and childish as it sounds, getting praised for taking the garbage out without being asked to lead to it happening more and more frequently, until I no longer need to be reminded of the little things.

It took me (and us) years of effort to get back to a place of happiness, and through the process, there was almost a divorce. There was a separation. So from his perspective, I think I understand your situation.

I would encourage you, MominSC, to not give up hope. You can't change him, but you can help him change himself. With your help, he can become a better husband and father.

That's not to say it's solely your responsibility to deal with the B.S., though. If he doesn't meet you halfway, then it's his loss.

**

F.A.P.P.A.H. - Fathers As Primary Parent At Home



StayAtHomeTripletDad
StayAtHomeTripletDad's picture
Posts: 134
Joined: 2010-06-19
Dad Points: 179
Every situation is different

First let me point out the obvious by saying that every situation is different.  Now on to my opinions, but you know what they say about opinions:)

I would try counseling and/or sitting down (again) with him and laying things out for him.  Express the gravity of the situation to him.  I hate to say this but you probably need to be frank, honest and caring.  This sounds bad but look at it like you have an employee (which he is not) and you are putting him on a performance improvement plan (which you are not.)  I would start with discussing expectations each of you have for each other.  Maybe he has expectations of you also.  This is where most of the issues will probably lie.  You all need to agree to the expectations or come to some compromise.  It sounds like you all have done this before but maybe you need to write it all down with expectations and how each of you all plan to meet those expecations.  Keep in mind that when I talk about an expectation it is something like "a clean house" not "H cleans the house."  So if the expectation is a clean house then you all can discuss what each of you is willing to do to to meet that expectation/goal.

For any goal/expectation you have I would put it in the best perspective.  For instance, McDonalds.  You all watch Food Inc., Supersize Me and Fast Food Nation.  Then you all can discuss what you can do to change everyone's eating habits.  For instance during the week I handle the kitchen but on the weekend we take turns and we go back to our rule that if one cooks the other one cleans.

On the stress issue if he cannot handle the stress of full time work then staying at home with kids and meeting all the expectations that can go along with that is no cake walk either.  To me work is WAY easier.  Heck if you don't like work you can always look for another job, there is no such option staying at home.  Maybe if there are a few things that he really does not want to do like clean then he could agree to work more to pay for a maid, same with the yard work.

I may have a cold and harsh view of my "job" as being the "domestic engineer" but the way I look at it this is my job.  I also look at it as a choice not something I "have" to do.  So just like any other job if I don't like doing part of it I can either do it or find another way to get it done.  I have never worked anywhere that let me say I am not willing to do part of the job.

Lastly let him know (again) how this makes you feel and that there is a breaking point that you don't want to get to.  Don't threaten but just tell him how it is, i.e.: "I don't want all these little things to keep driving us apart" or "when you are on the computer I feel like the people you are interacting with online are more important to you than me and the kids are."

You all are in my prayers,

Al



Hogan
Posts: 426
Joined: 2008-04-21
Dad Points: 785
Trade places for a weekend

Give your husband a weekend off as the at home parent.

Take two vacation days Friday and Monday.  You can use the four day weekend for time alone with the kids.  I bet the kids will like this idea.  They probably want and need a break from dad and would love to spend alone time with their mom for four days.  You'll also get a taste for what it's really like to be the full time parent even if it is only for four days.

Send your husband to the At-Home Dad Convention October 2 in Omaha.  He can use some reasonable alone time with other at home dads.

Your husband will also get reenergized at the convention and return home a better man, husband and father.  I'll even donate two of my books to both of you and buy him a beer.

Trading places will benefit both of you and the kids.

Trust me on this one.  20 year at-home dad vet.  Hope to see your husband there!



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