27 answers

Husbands Family Disrespectful

I am a mom of 4 that has been a stay at home mom for 2 years now. I do daycare out of my home for a set of twin boys that are 20 mos. The problem is that my husbands mother, father and brother are very vocal about their feelings towards my decision to stay home. They feel I should be "working" as hard as my husband. This has become a huge strain on our marriage and now I am thinking of a seperation. The biggest problem is that my husband will not stick up for me and my decision and at times says hurtful things to me like that I do nothing all day or I do not earn as much as him. Does anyone know of a way to show them how much work I do all day and that this is the best decision I can make for my children and family? Anybody been through this and have some advice? I am severely depressed and do not know where to turn anymore. It is starting to feel like my own husband is siding with his family even though we discussed this before I quit and he was supportive then. I just do not know what to do anymore.

1 mom found this helpful

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

I want to thank all of those who responded. I was feeling very alone and frustrated and reading all of your comments gave me hope. I have read each and every one and have taken a lot of advice from the responses. I have looked into counseling for myself, my husband refuses to go because he thinks there is nothing wrong with him. He has, however, stopped listening to his family on the matter and has told them to mind their own business. I am really hoping we can work this out, as I agree with most of you, that marriage is a lot of work and worth it to try. I had a friend of mine who is an accountant sit down with me and write up a "plan" on what the difference in our income would be if I worked fulltime vs stay-at-home. He is now more understanding. As for the daycare job, I am trying to find more children to take in for more income. Again, thank you so very much for all your help! I appreciate you all so very much.

More Answers

Oh how I have been there! I gently explained to my in-laws that my children come first and that the time I spend with them is never wasted. My husband doesn't do much around the house and there is no way I could work out of the house and keep up. If I were to go back to work I really would bring any more than I make caring for a couple of kids because I would have to pay for daycare on so many of my own children. In the end I told them it really wasn't any of their business and that I would no longer discuss it with them. As for my husband, I wrote down everything I did for a week and gave it to him. I asked if there was anything there he felt wasn't important.

This is going to sound different, but hear me out. I then began to not argue or defend myself at all. Each time my husband would say something mean or cruel, I would drop my head and say a prayer for him. I told God that I know he can make all things good, so bring good out of this. I knew if I left my husband that I would see my children even less. I would have had to go find a job outside the house and my children would suffer. I figured that if someone was going to have to suffer I would prefer it to be me and went on enjoying the time I had during the day alone with my children.

Fast forward several years. My husband figured out that I was praying for him each time I dropped my head and just took all his nastiness. He decided to support me because I had our children's best interests at hand. We agree that people are way more important than things. Our children are the best behaved children when we have family get-to-gathers and my in-laws now believe I did the right thing. Even if my husbands family wouldn't of come around, I would have continued. I am stubborn and I won't allow them to get involved in my life in that way. I would find ways to go see them less.

4 moms found this helpful

oh dear.
first of all, try to be patient. a lot of people are in your same situation, and a lot of people have in laws who feel the exact same way that you do.

next, revisit the issue with your husband, at a time where you are both able to concentrate on the discussion. a good time ive found to talk to my husband is when we are driving. get someone to watch your children so you and your husband can be alone to talk. remind him of your conversation from before you quit working, and ask him to update you on his feelings about this here and now. do it softly. ask him if he feels the same way, and if not, why he doesnt feel the same way, then try to come up with a solution.

the next thing you want to do is to tell him plain and simply that you need him to support you if this is the way you both want to continue. i beg of you not to separate from your husband so quickly.
my feeling is that hes not changed his mind, but he feels pressured by his family to feel the same way they do. i fear that separating from him might make him feel as if you simply dont love and respect HIM as a person. that this issue that is rooted in someone outside your marriage is something that splits the two of you. NO outside issue should EVER come between you.

i understand that things may seem intolerable now, but when the two of you can talk and come to a solution things should settle down. men tend to be the ones who feel the responsibility for their families, perhaps hes feeling a bit more pressured since the financial situation in your marriage is different than it was before. maybe he just feels pressured! :D

one resource i feel you NEED to use is the things that mark gungor has. he is FANTASTIC and one of the programs that he has is "laugh your way to a better marriage" and it is SO funny, and SO RIGHT ON. he has a way of putting things that makes you go AH HA! you know? he explains the differences between the ways men and women think, and how the operate, etc.... it will totally change your ideas about men and women, and can make you and your husband closer, especially if he watches it with you. if you guys like comedies, or comedians in general, (i mean who doesnt like to laugh) this guy will be awesome, and your marriage will strengthen.

one thing that you want to avoid is pointing any fingers at his family. i agree that they are being HORRIBLE to you, but what you need to remember - what is important in your marriage is less what other people are doing to you and more what YOU need and what YOU feel. men cant read our minds, he might not understand how you feel. use "I" statements, not "you" or "them" statements.

i hope this helps somewhat. the good thing about marriage is that it is a partnership, and it is meant to be forever. marriage is HARD!! the Bible itself says "it is good for a man not to marry..." and later continues "because he who marries will have trouble in this life"!! God Himself tells us right there that marriage is hard! :D we cant expect things to be perfect. but just because things are hard, frustrating, 'unbearable', doesnt mean your marriage is over. it means you have an incredible opportunity to strengthen your marriage! :D

its quite possible your husband is depressed too. so just try to be sensitive.
one thing that mark gungor talks about in his video (its around 50$ but its around 6 hrs long...) is that men feel close to their wives through sex, and women feel close to their husbands through the loving things they do. in order to get sex, men have to give their wives the loving things, and in order to get the loving things, wives have to give their husbands sex :P it sounds silly, but its true. even, at this point, if you simply dont want to, dont feel like it, do it anyway. its amazing the wounds that can be healed by paying attention to our spouse's deep needs in a marriage.

its helped even through the little things in my marriage, and the big thigns too. if i just give in, and make love with my husband, he is nicer, sweeter, kinder, more romantic, and loving to me. when i dont, hes hurt, rejected, angry, distant, etc. so, ive learned quick that if i want my husband to do the things for me that i want, i have to give him the things that he wants. he has also learned too that if he wants me to make love with him, he has to be nice to me. ive told him the one thing that gets me every time is if he kisses me on the back of my neck when im making supper, or washing dishes or something. gets me every time!!! if you have some trigger that makes you get the shivers, tell your husband what it is!! let him use it!! :D

anyway, i hope you check mark gungor out. changed our lives, and i hope he can change yours too. dont give up on your husband. trust me, with 4 kids in the picture, its much easier to work your hearts out to make it work than to just give up. no other man on earth is going to be any better, so dont think that the grass is greener. its still grass! :D :D

good luck. have patience. talk it through. tell your husband what you need, and figure out what his needs or worries are. :D dont let the world tear you apart! your inlaws problem with your job is THEIR problem, not yours. its THEIR feelings not yours. dont be responsible for their feelings. maybe they are simply jealous that they didnt do things that way. who knows. it doesnt matter. what matters is YOUR family, in YOUR home, doing what is best for your family. :D you GO MOM!

3 moms found this helpful

I just wanted to add another vote- I agree that you should let your husband walk a day in your shoes, and then see what he thinks. Maybe you can have him watch the kids while you go out to "job search" for 3 or 4 hours/day!!!

Also, write out a new budget scenario if you were working... including daycare costs, extra gas driving to and from daycare and work- assume gas is $4 a gallon because it's just a matter of time before it gets that high again, extra maintenance costs for your car due to the increased use [if you own two cars- if not, then the cost of a car and insurance as well], money spent on even more doctor visits and prescriptions because the kids will get sick much more often in daycare, etc. I'm betting that you would be worse off financially if you worked. Show that to him.
And write out a family "budget"....what would happen if you were working besides the money aspect? What are the extra "costs" that would affect the functioning of your family? Kids would be raised by someone else, hardly any time together by the time you get home, your husband would have to help with the dishes, laundry, upkeep of the house in general, ...that kind of thing.
I don't even think you should have to write anything to him in the first place because he should be supporting you! But since it appears he is ignorant to the amount of work moms do and what a difference you really make in EVERYTHING, including money...you will have to educate him a bit. Showing him how it would change your financial situation and having him watch the kids on his own as often as possible should help him appreciate you more

2 moms found this helpful

They obviously aren't putting value on your work, let alone a stay at home mom's work, your enjoyment factor (and less stress in your life) and the value your kids receive from you being happy and at home. Does your hubby ever get a chance to stay home all day, or several days in a row and try to deal with the kids, cleaning, cooking, etc? I think it's time he tried! Would all 4 of your kids be in daycare if you were working outside of the home?
Please try not to let their feelings bother you or get between you and your hubby. Tell them you don't feel it's fair that they judge you and their opinions are causing problems in your marriage. Maybe they'll back off. Or start judging their lifestyle choices and see if they like it.

2 moms found this helpful

I'm in a similar situation and there is no convincing people like that. They have their mind set and made up. The only leverage you may have is to show them what daycare would cost for you to put all 4 kids in daycare and work full time like your husband. And to show them how pointless it would probaly be after putting the kids in daycare.

My ex keeps naggin on why I don't work. He pays childsupport. I always remind him that if I do work he can just contribute to half the daycare costs and raise our current child support order and he immediately shuts up. He knows daycare for my 9mo.old would be like 1000-1300 a mo. easily in our state.

You have to live your life, be happy, and not worry what other's think or say. Harder to do than say but you gotta. Some people in this world think jobs/money are so important and that family/kids can be put on hold or not as much of a priority.

2 moms found this helpful

I have been a SAHM for 11 years now. I only have two and I have always gotten the question, "what do you do all day?" Now they are both in school but I still choose not to work and the comments are even worse because people know that I have 6 hours a day without kids. I get "must be rough" and comments about sitting around watching soaps and eating bon bons. After 10 years I've learned to ignore. I get to drive my kids to school and hug and kiss them at 8:30 in the morning and pick them up and hug and kiss them again at 2:30. They tell me everything about their days. They confide in me. They tell me the truth, even when they know they'll get in trouble because of the BOND I've established by ALWAYS being there. When they get sick, (and between the two of them it runs 20 to 30 days off every school year) I'm there. They aren't forced to go to school feeling miserable as I've seen in so many families with dual incomes. Summers, we spend every second together while thier friends are in summer care at the school (which, by the way, one of my daughter's friends told her she'd rather "eat a plate of buggers" than go there.) People always note what great kids I have... polite, respectful, great values, never in trouble at school, friendly, great grades etc. and ask me what my secret is. The secret is WE raised them - me and their Dad as a team. He spends every second he has off work with them because there are no errands to do or household things to get done on the weekends. I do all those things during the week while they are in school. They are in the tween years, which are supposed to be awful (and I have seen some real monsters in their classes) but we are better friends than ever. Your work and sacrifice to be with your kids will reap GREAT rewards for you, despite the lashings of society. My husband takes them by himself once a year while I go away for a three day weekend and he always says, "I don't know how you do it." He also supports me and makes sure I get out of the house at least once a month for a full day of me time. He recognizes that it's tough. I agree with the other ladies that your husband needs to do your job to realize it's the toughest job on earth. Good luck, You have all my respect.

2 moms found this helpful

As a working mom, i know how tired i get on the weekends - all week long is a workout. i really respect your decision, because even if we could afford it, i don't think I could do it full-time. it is time for a serious wake-up call for your hubby and family. when is the last time he stayed home with them for a full day? He should not be siding with his family, you are supposed to be #1. I'm so sorry you're going through this, i wish i could tell you what to do. I just want you to know i agree what's happening is not right, and want to send you a hug and some prayers! AND i almost forgot to mention. check out www.healthy-marriage.com, it's a marriage mentor website that offers a free program. Getting another couple's perspective might make a huge difference. It's really been helping us. Go to the site and click on "mentoring" tab. They take an inventory of you and your spouse and match you up with a couple that lives near you that has your same interests (this really helps keep the husbands involved). They meet with you short-term, but help you get things back on track. i can't say enough about the program, and it's free!

2 moms found this helpful

A good read: "In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms" by Dr. Laura Schlessinger.

2 moms found this helpful

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