Yep I probably would have thought the same way prior to having children. The reality is that most of the time both parents have to work out of financial necessity. Honestly? I'm not fully present at either of my 'jobs' and would give anything to have the choice whether or not to work. Having a child is a full time job itself as there is always something to do at least until they reach school age and I'm in a permanent state of overload and exhaustion with a constantly messy house. All the flexible time in the world won't make any difference as it doesn't make up the work when you have an emergency to attend to (not a recharging hobby -would be wonderful but such ideals on the back burner for now). If you do two jobs (one unpaid) something has to give even if it does cause resentment