Don't want to send my wife back to work after baby

Spac3Monkey

Hi All

I hope you can help

My lovely wife is due to give birth to our first child (boy) in December. She'll more than likely take the 9 months with maternity, but I want her to have more and if she doesn't want to go back to work I don't want her to feel as if she has to for financial reasons

My dad always said to my mum that he never wanted his children to come home from school to an empty house because they were both working and so they took the decision for my mum not to work and raise me and my siblings. I want the same for my family

My wife works part time at the moment and brings home around 600 a month. My problem is that I don't know if we can afford to live without that money and was wondering if anyone can give me some insight into any allowances that we would be entitled to.

Any information would be gratefully received

Thanks

Craig

FBaby

You'll be entitled to child benefit and tax credits depending on your salary. If you can afford for her to stay home and you to support your family on this, then it is great that your wish is granted. If you can't, then you will have to accept that in a perfect world, you would have liked your wife to be a stay at home mum, but the reality is that it is not possible. Many, if not most mums, would prefer to be SAHM but can't afford to do so.

pmlindyloo

OK, to save you giving all the information we need to answer your question just pop your details (as if your wife wasnt going back to work) into the benefit calculator on www.turn2us.org.uk and you will have a good idea as to what you may be eligible for.

PS This will save all the responses from people who will want to discuss the ins and outs of working/not working when you have children!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PPS Too late!

PPS Sorry FBaby, not a personal dig at you. There just seem to be a few people on this forum today who are set on having long debates about this and that. Frankly, am fed up with it on this particular forum.

kingfisherblue

What does your wife want to do? It sounds quite old fashioned when you state that you don't want to send your wife back to work after having the baby, and even though you might want the same as your dad wanted, you wife might disagree!

A couple of alternatives are for your wife to work evenings or weekends, or for her to work shorter hours, more in line with the school day.

Tigsteroonie

Spac3Monkey wrote: »

My dad always said to my mum that he never wanted his children to come home from school to an empty house because they were both working

Doesn't have to be the Mum that stays home ... So I think your first move should be to discuss it with your wife, see what she wants.

Hammyman

Time to start banging in the overtime if thats what you want to do.

real1314

Hammyman wrote: »

Time to start banging in the overtime if thats what you want to do.

I'm not sure that an affair with a colleague is a good idea. :cool:

Spendless

My eldest is 11 and there wasn't the childcare help you get nowadays when he was born. There wasn't as many childcare providers either.

The company I worked for only employed f-time workers and it would have cost the equivalent of my take home wage to pay the childcare bills. I wasn't prepared to work all week not seeing my baby for no money so I packed in.

After a few months we were struggling so I found an evening/weekend job changing after a few months to a mon-fri evenings job. This worked fab. Baby was always being cared for by a parent (not that I have any issue with childcare I use it now) and we had a 2nd income without having to deduct childminder/nursery costs. Is this an option that could be looked into? What sort of work does your wife do?

thegirlintheattic

What does your wife want to do?

Carl31

Could your wife not work part time at a time when you dont? thats what my partner does, evenings and weekends as a care worker

No childcare costs, and shes at home in the day, it also allows her to still go to work as she wants to feel she contributes to the house hold

It means we have less time together, but i dont see it as being forever

QueenieB

It might seem like it's vital to get this sorted out now, but nobody really knows how they will feel once the baby is born. Some women find the idea of being parted from their child very upsetting, and some are desperate to get out of the house alone for a couple of hours a day. Some decide to work from home (I did this and the guilt is less, but the work is much, much more!).
Once the baby has been here for a few months and you have both found your feet as new parents, then your wife can look at her options and make a decision.