For Hire: Motherhood
posted in Child Care, Mom Rants |
Think there are things money can’t buy? Guess again. Now, if you have the dough, you can hire “parenting subcontractors,” people you can rent out to do annoying tasks for your children that you don’t want to. Like removing head lice. According to an article in Time, there’s a woman out there who really does this. I’m serious. She runs a company called “Texas Lice Squad” and parents hire her to come over to pick out their kids head bugs. In addition, parents are also outsourcing other tasks like taking kids to soccer practice or a doctor’s appointment.
Critics argue that parents who do these things are “lazy.” Parents who use these services see it as freeing up more “quality time” to spend with their kids.
As a working mom with little time to spare, I see it as my dream. There are certain aspects of parenting (like head lice removal) that give me the creeps and that I’d rather not spend my free time doing. I’m sorry, but if someone wants to help me out a little with potty training, I’m all ears. I’d love to have an expert around that I could hire on a moment’s notice to help with certain unglamorous tasks.
Of course, I’m really not at the point where I’d actually pick up the phone and call the Head Lice Lady quite yet, so I’m talking a big game. But in preparation for the future, I did make a short list of other things I would consider outsourcing, if I could afford it and if someone wanted to do it:
- Nail clipping - there’s no worse feeling than pricking your kid’s finger because you went to deep with those clippers
- Teeth brushing - isn’t there a toothbrush out there made for sore, teething gums?
- Dinner clean up - I’ve wrenched my back one too many times picking up green beans
- Fever taking - you get my drift
What would you outsource? Don’t lie and tell me you’ve never daydreamed about this…
Tags: outsourcing, Time+magazine, subcontracting
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