Breastfeeding in the office?

[telecom_goddess]

I sometimes wonder how people find the time, money, and resources to have and raise kids. Don't get me wrong. I know people do it. Heck, every time I go into a public place, there are at least several people toting small children around. I just can't help but find myself wondering how it is all done without one of the parents staying home or working part-time.

In this day and age it's impossible. You need both parents to work to make ends meet, and when companies aren't progressive enough to have daycare on site and let you breast feed in the office then one person's paycheck goes entirely to daycare...and then what's the point?

Yes some concessions need to be made to parents, that's the way it goes in this world.

[LexiaFira]

I sometimes wonder how people find the time, money, and resources to have and raise kids. Don't get me wrong. I know people do it.

either both parents make due and sacrifice some, get assistance or as telecom_goddess said, both work full time. Or daycare...which also means work full time. Apparently once the child is born this great change comes over both parents, its either wondrous or progressive as the child ages...heh

[Lace Neil Singer]

In this day and age it's impossible. You need both parents to work to make ends meet, and when companies aren't progressive enough to have daycare on site and let you breast feed in the office then one person's paycheck goes entirely to daycare...and then what's the point?

Yes some concessions need to be made to parents, that's the way it goes in this world.

Concessions at the expense of others tho? This whole allowing babies to come to work (and risking picking up infections for one); who do you think is going to be covering Mommie Dearest when she goes off for three hours to breastfeed baby? Why, it'll be the childfree of course, who already get screwed out of first pick of holiday in some jobs, and who can't just walze off early like some parents do, for real or invented child related emergencies.

I'm sorry, but if you feel you can't afford to have kids then don't have them. The entire world shouldn't have to bend over backwards cuz people have kids and then aren't prepared to make sacrifices. True, you may have to scrimp and save, do without your SUV and foreign holidays, but that's all part of being a parent. Today it seems as tho a lot of parents want both their lifestyle and a child, and expect everyone else to pay for or allow for their decision to breed.

[gremcint]

is their an age limit on this? because a hilarious vision just entered my head based on this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8orUaCJ0GY
and a mother working with their son/daughter at the same company.

[Kimmik]

Lace if people didnt have children the human race would be fucked. I make sacrifices for my child. To afford daycare many here in the states have to work full time jobs just to afford the care. Many that need the holiday time off is because there is no school, or their sitter isnt availible, or etc. And I am sorry if your parent was in an accident are you saying your boss wouldnt let you go?

Or what about the child-free who call in after a weekend binge, or just decide a 3 day week end sounded good. There were plenty of times that I had to do the work of some person that didnt have kids because they were to hung over to come to work.

I find mothers tend to be able to multi-task better then most people without children. Mind you I am not one of those mothers.

And let me tell you parents make lots of sacrifices that you dont: Lack of sleep due to child sick, scared or a bajillon other reasons, lack of hey lets jet off for a beer, places they can go without dicks giving you shit because your 6 month old decides to cry because they need something. Or the added stress of omg what if, or the hurt of not being able to fix the problem. Or the fact that your days of going off to a movie or hell around the block can not be done on a whim. So dont give me that shit that we with children force those with out to suffer.

Yes we parents make a hell of a lot of sacrifices when we have children. None of my pregnancies were planned... one I was told I couldn't have them and too I am allergic to latex and the non latex were sort of expensive. Yes my work did work around my schedule to accommodated my baby, but you know what? My work place doesn't give preference to parents, but they will work with them if they have a legit reason and I dont know any place that doesnt want proof if it happens to much. My husband has worked every holiday, the only one that he will not work is the 31st of dec because that day is still painful.

I know people with kids and with out that are slackers and abusers of the systems, be it work or something else. So please dont make it well people who spawn are divas that want everything.

[Greenday]

Having kids is a choice. It's a choice. You don't have to have kids. Companies should not be forced to provide daycare. The company didn't ask for you to have a kid and in all reality, it does nothing to help the company if you have a kid. If you want to have kids, plan ahead and save up. Don't just have kids then say, "Hey, I can't afford this so other people are going to dish out some cash to save me."

[guywithashovel]

Ever since I started working, I have had to cover for people with and without kids. Workplaces shouldn't be a "parents vs non-parents" battleground.

On another note, has it been anyone else's observation that the people who oppose any kind of concessions to parents are the often same people who deride birth control and comprehensive sex education? People using condoms, birth control pills, etc. is horrible because it encourages promiscuity and "sex without responsibility," but at the same time, any help given to children in need is a "big government handout" or "socialism."

[Greenday]

On another note, has it been anyone else's observation that the people who oppose any kind of concessions to parents are the often same people who deride birth control and comprehensive sex education?

...Um, no? Not at all...

[telecom_goddess]

For those that are child free and don't want to make accomadations for parents....what about when YOU were a child .....were concessions made for your parents? What about when you were home sick from school and had no daycare? And having you was a choice they made......and some other people probably had to pick up slack for them. Was that a bad choice?

[Greenday]

For those that are child free and don't want to make accomadations for parents....what about when YOU were a child .....were concessions made for your parents? What about when you were home sick from school and had no daycare? And having you was a choice they made......and some other people probably had to pick up slack for them. Was that a bad choice?

Let's see. My mom used up maternity leave and stopped working after that to take care of me. Then when she started working again, I was put in daycare. When I was home sick, either my grandmother watched me or my mom used a sick day.

Nothing that involves mandatory breaks at work to take care of me. Nothing that involves forcing her workplace to care for me with free daycare.

Other than maternity leave, she got no extras. Sick leave can be used to take care of a sick relative (any relative, doesn't have to be kids).

Oh, and she got paid crap too.

[Eisa]

Let's see...my mom didn't start working until I was about 8...When I was sick, I just stayed home alone. I was babysitting my younger sister at 8.

So yeah, no she didn't come home, my dad didn't come home, I just took care of myself.

I think ONE time my sister was really sick, my mom got to come home...but it wasn't so much that it was her kid that was sick, it was that someone needed her, plus she like NEVER misses work seriously, in 12 years she's probably missed less than a week due to sick days. No joke.

And it's not so much that I don't think there should be ANY accommodations for parents, I just disagree with breastfeeding at the office. I don't think you should be bringing your baby there who needs to be breastfed, sorry. Or your baby period.

[Andara Bledin]

For those that are child free and don't want to make accomadations for parents....what about when YOU were a child .....were concessions made for your parents?

Nope. Plus, my mom is one of the ones bitching about people having kids and then expecting to be given preferential treatment for making that decision.

What about when you were home sick from school and had no daycare?

Nope. She made arrangements. Because it was her responsibility, and nobody else's.

And having you was a choice they made......and some other people probably had to pick up slack for them. Was that a bad choice?

If anybody picked up slack for my mother, it would have been because they chose to do so, not because she demanded it.

^-.-^

[guywithashovel]

I guess I'm "childfree," even though I strongly dislike that term.

My mom didn't work outside the home for most of my childhood. She worked as a secretary at a law firm when she and my dad first met, and she went back for a while after I was born, but soon decided to quit and stay home with me because doing both was too much work for her. For years, she was a "stay at home" mom. Later on, she started making and selling crafts, but she did that at home. I really didn't need any concessions in that respect.

I don't really agree with forcing employers to offer day care, but I can sympathize with some concessions, though I'm not sure exactly where I would draw the line. It's just that when I consider all the work that has to go into raising a family, I also consider all the work that has to go into a job. The thought of trying to do both is mind boggling to me, especially when it involves babies and small children.

I also think the sentiment of "If you can't afford kids or don't have time for them, don't have them" is overly simplistic. Yes, people shouldn't have kids if they can't afford them or don't have the time or will to give to them. In fact, I believe I'm even on record as saying that people should consider their financial situations before having a kid. But what if one of the parents was making enough money for the other parent to stay home, but suddenly had to take a paycut or got laid off and had to take a job that didn't pay as much? The other parent might have to get a job so that ends can meet.

Maybe that's not a valid point, but I think some people are a little too quick to judge when parents try to blend parenting with work. Consider that them the other side of the coin to parents who think their time is more important than that of people without kids.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Lace if people didnt have children the human race would be fucked.

Seeing as this planet is overpopulated, I really doubt that. And why are you firing this accusation at me? I reread my posts and nowhere did I say that people weren't allowed to have children.

I make sacrifices for my child. To afford daycare many here in the states have to work full time jobs just to afford the care. Many that need the holiday time off is because there is no school, or their sitter isnt availible, or etc. And I am sorry if your parent was in an accident are you saying your boss wouldnt let you go?

Again, I never said this. Is this a rant directed solely at me, or is this a hidden agenda? In any case, I've read a lot of complaints by people on CS.com and other forums where parents are automatically given first whack at holidays like Christmas and summer, when it really ought to be first come first served. If you don't get there first, then tough. Just cuz you have produced offspring, does not give you the right to jump the queue.

Or what about the child-free who call in after a weekend binge, or just decide a 3 day week end sounded good. There were plenty of times that I had to do the work of some person that didnt have kids because they were to hung over to come to work.

So have I; said people tended to be taken to task about it. I never once saw a mother taken to task about missing work cuz of sick kids, cept one person who was obviously trying it on.

I find mothers tend to be able to multi-task better then most people without children.

Generalisation. A lot of people I know with small kids can't multitask and blame it on "baby brain". Doesn't mean every single mother is like that.

And let me tell you parents make lots of sacrifices that you dont: Lack of sleep due to child sick, scared or a bajillon other reasons, lack of hey lets jet off for a beer, places they can go without dicks giving you shit because your 6 month old decides to cry because they need something. Or the added stress of omg what if, or the hurt of not being able to fix the problem. Or the fact that your days of going off to a movie or hell around the block can not be done on a whim. So dont give me that shit that we with children force those with out to suffer.

Again, you are generalising. Also, YOU made the choice to get pregnant and have children. I didn't, therefore why should I suffer when a parent decides that they need a sudden day off to go and watch little Susie in her play, or if Junior has the sniffles? Second, why are you making the assumption that all childfree people want days off to go to movies? You seem to be tarring us all with the same brush; exactly what you accuse me of doing.

Yes we parents make a hell of a lot of sacrifices when we have children. None of my pregnancies were planned... one I was told I couldn't have them and too I am allergic to latex and the non latex were sort of expensive. Yes my work did work around my schedule to accommodated my baby, but you know what? My work place doesn't give preference to parents, but they will work with them if they have a legit reason and I dont know any place that doesnt want proof if it happens to much. My husband has worked every holiday, the only one that he will not work is the 31st of dec because that day is still painful.

I know people with kids and with out that are slackers and abusers of the systems, be it work or something else. So please dont make it well people who spawn are divas that want everything.

I'm not saying any such thing. You however are reading into my posts things that aren't there. Take a chill pill.

For those that are child free and don't want to make accomadations for parents....what about when YOU were a child .....were concessions made for your parents? What about when you were home sick from school and had no daycare? And having you was a choice they made......and some other people probably had to pick up slack for them. Was that a bad choice?

Actually, my mother worked as a childminder for crap pay for the very reason that she wanted to be with her children. If I or my brothers were sick from school, then Mum took a day off (often unpaid) and looked after us. We never went to daycare, not ever; and my parents never expected anyone to pick up the slack for them. They just worked around having sick kids.

Again, I am not saying that parents deserve no concessions at all and should be forced to work down in the mines for minimum pay. All I am saying is that workplaces should be fair to all. No childfree person should be allowed to slope off for a two hour fag break; and no parent should be allowed to have a two hour breastfeeding break.

And it's not so much that I don't think there should be ANY accommodations for parents, I just disagree with breastfeeding at the office. I don't think you should be bringing your baby there who needs to be breastfed, sorry. Or your baby period.

What she said, pretty much. Nowhere is anyone attacking parents or saying that parents deserve no consideration or help. However, babies do not belong at the office.

[telecom_goddess]

Well i don't see anyone FORCING workplaces to have daycare or allow breastfeeding anytime soon anyway. They will to be kind or they won't. And if they do more power to them.

As for getting holidays off first because of having kids...that never happened for me. I have holidays off now cause I'm lucky enough to work in a place that's closed for them anyway.

It didn't used to be so hard to have kids and be financially sound, it used to be possible for the mom to stay home. I would LOVE to be a stay at home mom and homemaker, but I just can't...I'm the main breadwinner in the house. And I've done the full time work and daycare thing....and got behind in payments to daycare cause it wasn't affordable. If more work places provided free daycare they would have more productivity and less absenteeism because that hardship would be out of the way. Having daycare on site is nothing but beneficial for everyone. Provided daycare would also take a lot of people off the welfare rolls.....think about it.