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Emma Thompson: Women Who Work Can’T Be Great Mothers


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Nanny McPhee said what? Millionaire actress Emma Thompson declared Sunday that women who work can’t be great mothers.

 

The 55-year-old British actress — who starred as the wart-nosed titular character in 2005’s “Nanny McPhee” — took a yearlong break from her movie career to spend time with her 14-year-old daughter, Gaia Wise, and recommends other mothers do the same for their kids.

 

You can’t be a great mum and keep working all the time. I wanted to spend more time with my family. A year off was my birthday present to myself. I didn’t actually act or write. I was just a mum,” she told the Daily Mail on Sunday.

 

I highly recommend others to do the same, if they can afford it.”

 

The “Remains of the Day” star — whose net worth is roughly $50 million — said that, during her break, she “taught drama at my daughter’s school, cooked meals and had fun.”

 

Her parental advice irked working moms, who called it old-fashioned and tone-deaf.

 

“I don’t agree with her at all. You can work full time and be an incredible mom — and give your kids the feeling that you’re present and that they are loved,” said Laura Deutsch, a mom of two and co-founder of Mommybites, a Web site for moms.

 

“It doesn’t matter if you work, as long as you show your child that you’re engaged when you are home,” said Deutsch, 41, of Summit, NJ, who has an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old

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“For me, working full time made me a happier person. And being a happier person made me a better mom.”

 

Plus, she adds, most moms can’t afford a yearlong break.

 

“[Thompson] has a lot of money, and that skews her perspective. It’s just so different, The majority of moms don’t have that choice,” Deutsch said.

 

With her remarks, Thompson is following in the footsteps of another film star — Gwyneth Paltrow, who incurred moms’ wrath by claiming women working 9-to-5 jobs have it easier than she does as an actress.

 

“When you’re shooting a movie, they’re like, ‘We need you to go to Wisconsin for two weeks,’ and then you work 14 hours a day, and that part of it is very difficult,” Paltrow told E! News in March.

 

“I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as — of course, there are challenges — but it’s not like being on set.”

Thompson — who, in addition to Gaia, has an adopted 26-year-old son with actor Greg Wise — also lamented the difficulty of balancing motherhood with a film career on Sunday.

 

“Sometimes in life, you’ll have some things, at other times, you will have other things . . . You don’t need it all at once, it’s not good for you,” she said. “Motherhood is a full-time job.”

 

http://pagesix.com/2014/05/25/working-women-cant-be-great-moms-emma-thompson/

 

 

If they can afford it?  Can we as a society afford not to? Is a yearlong break enough to be a good mother?  Maybe one is happier with a career.  Is that short-sighted or selfish if one also has children?  Obviously, some moms must work to make ends meet; I don't think this is about them directly.

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If they can afford it?  Can we as a society afford not to? Is a yearlong break enough to be a good mother?  Maybe one is happier with a career.  Is that short-sighted or selfish if one also has children?  Obviously, some moms must work to make ends meet; I don't think this is about them directly.

Cool you quoted Emma Thompson...wonderful actor. If you ever get a change watch "Wit", wow, just wow.
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I don't often listen to actors, but when I do I prefer insanely rich, privileged, out of touch women.  Good grief, this woman could afford to not work at all if she is that keen on motherhood. I wonder if she is still paying the nannies while she plays mom for a whole year.

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See The Two Income Trap

 

Yes, working couples should buy a house that can be afforded on one income in case the other income is lost.

 

Cool you quoted Emma Thompson...wonderful actor. If you ever get a change watch "Wit", wow, just wow.

 

 

I'll try. A quick scroll through her filmography shows that I have seen Brave, the various Harry Potters, Nanny McPhee, I Am Legend, and Treasure Planet.

 

So you are in favor of wages that universally allow one parent to support a whole family.

 

Not by any stretch of the imagination. In keeping with the principle of agency and the plan of salvation in general which is neutral in order for people to be free to act and be acted upon, I favor businesses setting their own wages and people educating, preparing, and training themselves to compete for them.

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Not by any stretch of the imagination. In keeping with the principle of agency and the plan of salvation in general which is neutral in order for people to be free to act and be acted upon, I favor businesses setting their own wages and people educating, preparing, and training themselves to compete for them.

 

So this counsel is only for the economically successful? Fair enough.

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I don't often listen to actors, but when I do I prefer insanely rich, privileged, out of touch women.  Good grief, this woman could afford to not work at all if she is that keen on motherhood. I wonder if she is still paying the nannies while she plays mom for a whole year.

 

 

Nevertheless, should we ignore true principles when we don't respect the person who gives them?  On the flip side, Jesus supped with sinners and many apparently did not believe because of that.

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Not by any stretch of the imagination. In keeping with the principle of agency and the plan of salvation in general which is neutral in order for people to be free to act and be acted upon, I favor businesses setting their own wages and people educating, preparing, and training themselves to compete for them.

 

So this counsel is only for the economically successful? Fair enough.

 

 

Fortunately, I just gave good and commonly accepted counsel for the economically unsuccesful.

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Fortunately, I just gave good and commonly accepted counsel for the economically unsuccesful.

 

Which usually works assuming you were given the natural talents to follow the advice and that not everyone does it because even if everyone gets a college degree someone still has to be the janitor and try to raise a family on one near-minimum wage income.

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Which usually works assuming you were given the natural talents to follow the advice and that not everyone does it because even if everyone gets a college degree someone still has to be the janitor and try to raise a family on one near-minimum wage income.

 

 

Meaningless as the Church teaches 1 Nephi 3:7 and Ether 12:27.  Hence it does not matter what your natural talents are, or are not, you can live according to the teachings and doctrine of the Church.

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Meaningless as the Church teaches 1 Nephi 3:7 and Ether 12:27.  Hence it does not matter what your natural talents are, or are not, you can live according to the teachings and doctrine of the Church.

 

Ah, so what counsel would you give to a poor single mother whose husband died young and is convinced by your argument that mothers should be at home. How should she "go and do the things that Lord has commanded" knowing that there must be a way not to work and follow this counsel.

 

Quite a puzzler. Any ideas?

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Quite a puzzler. Any ideas?

 

I would say you've driven yourself off the subject with extreme examples in your haste to avoid having to account for the doctrine, and in so doing have illustrated my point on 1 Nephi 3:7 and Ether 12:27.  Consider what The Family: A Proclaimation To The World actually says:

 

 

Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation.

 

In other words, she's exempt.

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Obviously, some moms must work to make ends meet; I don't think this is about them directly.

So you indirectly think that a mom working out of necessity can not be a great mom?

The family is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

No mention that a non-working mother is necessary for a successful marriage or family.

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There are no super women that can do it all.  If a mother works she will necessarily be less available to be a mom and be able to run a household.  Do you really think that there are super women that are capable of doing everything at all times and for each child, still be a wife also?  

 

There are always trade-offs.  

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Cool you quoted Emma Thompson...wonderful actor. If you ever get a change watch "Wit", wow, just wow.

I love this movie and think E. Thompson is one of the finest actors working today.

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Obviously, some moms must work to make ends meet; I don't think this is about them directly.

 

So you indirectly think that a mom working out of necessity can not be a great mom?

 

 

 

Indirectly because she may be exempt as we've discovered and as you've said; necessity.  But in either case, mom working out of necessity and mom working merely because she wants to or can, a mom cannot be as great as she can be.

 

 

No mention that a non-working mother is necessary for a successful marriage or family.

 

 

 

 

But it is part of divine design as you quoted.  The responsibility falls on the father.

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But it is part of divine design as you quoted. The responsibility falls on the father.

Not relevant, a "stay at home mom" is not required for a successful marriage and family which "are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities."

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BCSpace:

 

"Yes, working couples should buy a house that can be afforded on one income in case the other income is lost".

 

Median income in US. The census report found that median household income, adjusted for inflation, was $51,017 in 2012, down about 9 percent from an inflation-adjusted peak of $56,080 in 1999, mostly as a result of the longest and most damaging recession since the Depression.

 

Median house cost in California. The median home value in California is $414,700.

 

Standard mortgage assumes housing should cost no more than 3 times the annual income for a family of 4. You do the math.

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Indirectly because she may be exempt as we've discovered and as you've said; necessity.  But in either case, mom working out of necessity and mom working merely because she wants to or can, a mom cannot be as great as she can be.

 

But it is part of divine design as you quoted.  The responsibility falls on the father.

 

 

My mom waited until all us kids were in school before restating her career as a elementary school teacher. She was usually home before we were. We walked or took the bus. She drove her own car. You need to be more careful in your grand generalizations about the greatness of moms.

 

My dad was in the military and often on TDY. I'm forever grateful that my mom picked up the slack and them some. Dad's are great too.

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BCSpace:

 

"Yes, working couples should buy a house that can be afforded on one income in case the other income is lost".

 

Median income in US. The census report found that median household income, adjusted for inflation, was $51,017 in 2012, down about 9 percent from an inflation-adjusted peak of $56,080 in 1999, mostly as a result of the longest and most damaging recession since the Depression.

 

Median house cost in California. The median home value in California is $414,700.

 

Standard mortgage assumes housing should cost no more than 3 times the annual income for a family of 4. You do the math.

 

This is true but the median income is higher in California. California statistics are odd though because the coastal areas are much more expensive while the interior is much cheaper to live in. I know if I was offered a job in California I would want about a 60-75% pay increase to maintain my standard of living.

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This is true but the median income is higher in California. California statistics are odd though because the coastal areas are much more expensive while the interior is much cheaper to live in. I know if I was offered a job in California I would want about a 60-75% pay increase to maintain my standard of living.

 

We lived in New Mexico for about a decade. Things cost less, but pay was also far less. Before I retired I was making about 5 times more here in California, adjusted for inflation.

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