6/11/2023 0 Comments Expecting Better by Emily Oster![]() ![]() ![]() We shouldn’t have to say we’re staying home for children’s optimal development, or at least, that shouldn’t be the only factor in the decision. I’m well aware that many people don’t want to be an economist for eight hours a day. Just like it should be okay to say that you stay home with your kids because that is what you want to do. The eighth hour at my job is better than the fifth hour with the kids on a typical day. The physical and emotional challenges of work pale in comparison to the physical and emotional challenges of being an on-scene parent. Yes, the eighth hour is less fun than the seventh, but the highs are not as high and the lows are not as low. The first hour with them is amazing, the second less good, and by hour four I’m ready for a glass of wine or, even better, some time with my research. In part, this is because kids are exhausting. But the “marginal value” of time with my kids declines fast. It isn’t that I like my job more than my kids overall-if I had to pick, the kids would win every time. I’ve figured out that my happiness-maximizing allocation is something like eight hours of work and three hours of kids a day. ![]() ![]() But I wouldn’t be happy staying home with them. “I’ll say it: I am lucky enough to not have to work, in the sense that Jesse and I could change how we organize our life to live on one income. ![]()
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