As usual I was coming off as a wiseass but I meant it sincerely. I couldn't afford 24/7 live-in nanny care for a child but I'd do my best to schedule some time for myself somehow or I wouldn't hack it.
It's ok for a parent to want some time. Have you seen these little creatures?
Any parent who gushes about their kid without dishing how the little shits piss them off is a lying prick and deserves a swift kick to the nuts.
The most important thing a parent can do is give themselves a time-out.
I would tell my wife to take off for a night and go see friends and eat shitty thai food and see that stupid Merryl Streep movie she loves so much with her girlfriends and get all catty about what a shitty lay I am. She loved it, and it recharged her batteries and made her a better mom.
Likewise, I would take a three hour window once a week after the kids went to bed, go play ball with the guys, have a few beers too many, smoke a ton of cigarettes, complain about the kids and ask for tips on where to buy cheap hockey gear for the rugrats or laugh about someone farting real loud...that made me a better dad.
You need an outlet, or you'll freak out.
If you're an adult and you don't need a break from kids, you're seriously weird and probably shouldn't be around kids to begin with.
We couldn't afford the live-in daycare either, so we split time doing pat-leave and mat-leave. Women are better at raising kids than men though...that I know without a shadow of a doubt. The kids nearly went feral with me as the sole care provider. But, they had fun and it was carefree. Mom is more of a task master and general...less fun, more discipline, but they also learn a lot more from her.
My idea of care was to put some clothes on them, take them outside, and tell them to watch out for bees and hornets while I sat at the park looking at hot moms and babysitters. Then, we'd get some apple juice and head home to run around the yard and see what we could break.
