In thinking many modern parents take the easy way out

Well said Grandma 70s, we didn't & I still don't expect to have it all, plus no one seems to be any happier for having all the latest gadgets , Obviously not everyone is the same & having aspirations is not a bad thing, but sometimes having it all is not very satisfying or good for us.

Bridgeit thank goodness all the excellent women doctors and nurses who work in the health service don't have your antiquated attitude. The training, skill and experience we would lose if they all abandoned their careers would be devastating. My DIL is a great mum but she is also a professional woman and a leader in her field of medicine and I applaud her for it. She is a great role model for DGD who is already planning (at 5) a career (she's not sure what but knows she wants to be in charge!)

We are though trisher - apparently the number of female GPs who want to go part-time after having a family is causing a problem.

I sometimes think children are at the bottom of the pile these days. After all, they have no choice about how they are brought up, so parents can do as they like.

Oddly, or maybe not so oddly, the SAHM mothers I knew were all highly educated. They didn't consider it a waste of their talents to bring up their children.

Doctors can choose to only work part-time because they are paid very high salaries. Most working parents do not have that choice.
My youngest daughter sees her children for 1 hour in the morning (get up, breakfast, get ready for school/work) and one hour in the evening (homework, cook and eat dinner, clear up, prepare for next day, Bath, story, bed)
Her house is a tip and she’s always tired. Working parents need all the short cuts going.y

I did and do know some SAHMs who were very highly educated, worked for a while then chose to be at home with their children and put their energies and expertise into voluntary work.

However, family finances may preclude that these days.

On a lighter note, teachers are expected to dress up too, especially on History days. I hoped to find an Ancient Greek costume on the internet. However all the adult costumes available were far too adult orgy costumes with plunging necklines and split skirts.
I had to resort to the adult version of the pillow case: a single duvet cover carefully refashioned. Much more suitable for a church school! ?

Definitely more schoolmarm than orgy!

Why does it come across ( intentionally or not) that career mums & their chosen profession is more important than say a cleaner,without cleaners hospital & schools etc would not be able to open, but generally speaking you won't hear those woman making a big deal about the jobs & hours they put in . We all need each other & should all be respected for what we do. But downgrading the importance of having a parent around in early years should not be derided & with job shares & flexible hours it is possible to work around having children without them being in child care(costly) or Grans being relied on to fill the post

Don't you think that most mums have always done their best for their children (obviously there's always an exception). Years ago homes didn't have items such as washers, fridges and freezers. When they became readily available we all moved on but, surely, getting as twin tub didn't mean you CBA, its just natural progression.
My dd and sil both both work and I know that they would purchase costumes on line but, these would then be passed on to other friends etc. For my dd memories are made doing things she enjoys - baking with the children etc.
Oh and my dd purchased a perfect prep machine when my first dgs was born. I was appalled, who would be so lazy they wouldn't make the baby a bottle. Well, me actually, it turned out to be an amazing piece of equipment.

I don't know any working mums who make a big deal of their jobs or hours. They just get on and do it.

Nor does anyone claim that cleaners are less important than 'career' mums. My youngest is a trainee medic. One of the first things they learnt at med school was 'Do NOT annoy the hospital porters.' Porters, whilst not massively remunerated, do an essential job and no hospital could run without them.

I think we also forget that SAHMs have been in existence for a relatively brief length of time. Mothers have always worked; in times past they worked in fields and factories, or as domestic workers; during the world wars they stepped into the places of the men who had to go and fight.

They were unceremoniously chucked out of their jobs when the men returned, of course.

annesixty Most Mums today have the bottle making machines you mention . When my Dil told me she was buying one I secretly thought that it was a waste of money . Having looked after my |DGS after she suffered whiplash I was very glad of it . She still has to measure out the powder but after that the rest is done by the machine . The bottles are not disposable and need sterilising (also a machine) and of course Mum feeds the baby as normal . I have stopped poo pooing all the modern devices that we didn't have !

I bet a bottle machine is expensive. I used my breasts. Free.

sadly its not always possible to breastfeed ..even when we want to .

Very true paddyann, sometimes it just doesn't work out however much you want it to.
Some babies take to the breast with no problem at all, others do not. Mothers may have problems too that prevent them from breastfeeding.