I’m not sure what it would look like across the board, but in my experience they spend the time differently. My husband works out of town. When has time off and takes the kids while I work, his priorities are much different. He is more interested in playing and entertainment, quick meals etc than ensuring the laundry is done, kids are eating balanced and have the proper things laid out for the day etc. It means a big mess at the end of the week, but we also have incredibly happy kids! It’s a trade off I can handle.

I agree with what you said about the untapped capacity. I work for/with startups and I’ve often wondered what business opportunities there are at helping moms find quality work that is part-time. I think the market for this is there – look at the number of moms that end up working for MLM companies (Beach Body, etc) because they want income from a part-time/virtual situation. It’s just a matter of convincing more traditional companies that there is value in part-time and/or virtual work.

That’s fantastic! In our school district (which is otherwise quite well funded) there is no money to hire real art teachers, so it’s all parent volunteers in elementary. I find that super disappointing. With this same situation in another state, a friend reported that the PTA pooled their money/raised donations to hire specialists that the school could not pay for.

@Marthe – thank you! I appreciate it!

The good news is that many employers do view these volunteer jobs as real work experience. SAHM often use these volunteer gigs to develop work skills to make them more employable when they re-enter the work force. For example, I developed a school group’s website because I knew I’d have to have that skill on my resume when I started looking for jobs. I also took on organizing a huge two-day event that required finding and training 100 volunteers. I treated my volunteer work as a resume builder and kept track of measurable outcomes (eg. increased attendance by XX percent) and solicited recommendation letters. I felt it was a win-win for me and my school district.

Makes good sense.

One more question: any sense whether stay at home dads use their time differently than stay at home moms?

I agree. In my state, educational funding has been cut and aides were the positions that took the hit. Parents who volunteer in these positions are a blessing for sure. But I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like they had to, but I can see where the pressure comes in. In our area, some of these smart women have gotten together and began lobbying for more money for education to rehire assistants.