The casual contempt for working parents, and in particular working moms, has really been put on full display during this pandemic. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the line that “parents don’t want to be around their kids.” Its utter bullshit for several reasons... https://twitter.com/ASlavitt/status/1288622223201370112

1) Some parents, even working parents, LOVE being home with their kids right now. Trust me, I hear from a lot of them! But they also recognize that their kids need to be in school, both for their academic success and for their emotional well-being.

2) Some parents are too damn swamped with the demands of work and virtual learning to enjoy time at home with their kids. We’ve written a bajillion articles about this at WM, and so have others. They need kids at school so they can work. They need to pay their bills.

3) And finally, YES, some parents don’t want to be with their kids 24/7 and that’s ENTIRELY NORMAL AND HEALTHY. We were already sliding into dangerous norms pre-pandemic, with parents putting WAY too much of our time and identity into our children...

Parents are supposed to have friends! We are supposed to volunteer in our community! We are supposed to have hobbies! We are supposed to have a healthy marriage! And all of those things are damn hard when you spend 24/7 with your children...

I’m so sick and tired of this being made to look selfish. I’m so sick and tired of working moms being painted as indifferent or negligent mothers for prioritizing the careers we’ve spent years building...

Many working moms had kids with the understanding that a care network would be available so we could continue the careers that are deeply meaningful to us. So, yes, we don’t want to be around our kids all day long because we want to do OUR DAMN JOBS.