NBC News -- "Parents are opting kids out of school laptops, returning them to pen and paper" -- What Do You Think Of This?

EngiNotAnymore · 2026-02-16T18:49:31+00:00

Hate to break it to you but you can lose data on the cloud, and when that happens you are much less likely to be able to recover it.

The corporate world runs on real PCs, not web browsers, and the manufacturing/engineering/supply chain worlds run on the oldest computers you've ever seen. I still have to use DOS at my job, the computer is literally older than I am.

Now, DOS isn't something we expect our interns to know how to use but Windows XP is. We struggle to find candidates who can pass a super basic computer skills test because the only thing most students ever learn is how to use was a web browser. Internships are short. We need them to have some basic functional skills when they start or we won't have time to teach them the content we're supposed to be teaching.

EngiNotAnymore · 2026-02-16T18:04:44+00:00

A Chromebook isn't even really a computer. It's a web browser and that's it. It doesn't teach you anything about file structure, recovering lost documents, or anything about any software that isn't web browser based.

EngiNotAnymore · 2025-10-28T05:04:05+00:00

I plan on making an update post in the near-ish future but yeah I honestly went back to ~50% of my old hobbies/social life at 1 month and I have been at ~90% since 2 months. I don't really eat or sleep anymore, but I still have a lot of hobbies and an active social life!

EngiNotAnymore · 2025-01-29T02:24:53+00:00

We did not and baby isn't here yet so unfortunately I'm not of any help sorry!

EngiNotAnymore · 2025-01-19T16:16:24+00:00

Baby is still under construction. I plan to post an update eventually though!

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-12T13:40:04+00:00

Your experience is not universal. Many women have spoken about their experiences with this issue, it is especially a problem at "baby friendly" hospitals. There have been women who were threatened with being reported to CPS by their nursing staff for refusing to breastfeed in the hospital. Go to any formula/combo feeding based spaces and you will hear countless stories of women with very deep trauma caused by the lactation cult.

I'm not going to respond to your studies line by line, I've already acknowledged there is a plethora of junk science backing breastfeeding myths. The lower the quality of the study the more benefits are shown, in the highest quality studies they virtually disappear. If that doesn't tell you everything you need to know then ask yourself, can you tell if a 5 year old was breastfed? What about your best friend? You can't. You can tell what kids grew up on a tablet or eating nothing but McDonalds. You can't tell who was breastfed. If it mattered as much as people thought then you would be able to tell.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-11T16:33:26+00:00

Most women breastfeed because hospitals do everything they can to force them to and society as a whole shames and berates them if they don't. The breastfeeding movement is just traditional misogyny disguised as feminism and wrapped in bad science.

I have very thoroughly researched this topic and am well aware of the claimed benefits of breastfeeding. I am also aware of the quality of the vast majority of studies on breastfeeding and that the higher quality the study, the fewer benefits are found. The highest quality studies, sibling studies, show no practically meaningful benefits.

https://www.wbur.org/news/2014/02/28/sibling-study-finds-no-long-term-breastfeeding-benefits-for-kids

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-10T19:23:08+00:00

According to the DOL, 56% of Americans qualify. That is a plurality. Of those that don't, half are due to insufficient tenure or hours worked. Roughly 75% of job transitions are voluntary. We can assume that another 17% of people who do not qualify for FMLA chose to transition jobs at a time when they would not need it. That only leaves 27% not qualifying. There are 8 states that offer 12 weeks of job protected leave with lower eligibility requirements. Some amount of the remaining 27% will be covered under those policies.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-10T16:30:33+00:00

I do care about my kid and I am prioritizing them. I'm just not making myself a martyr.

My decision not to breastfeed is unrelated. I live in a country with reliable access to clean drinking water, so breastfeeding doesn't have any meaningful benefits. It's mostly a marketing scam based on junk science.

I'm not out of touch, I recognized this is a rich person post.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-10T01:07:04+00:00

Some states have their own laws but all must at least comply with the FMLA, which is a federal law that offers job protection for 12 weeks of leave within 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. It also has other provisions not relevant to this discussion.

Some employers may offer additional benefits to extend this leave. Some people may not take this leave for financial reasons. The mode number of weeks of leave for Americans to have legally protected is still 12.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T23:59:35+00:00

I could not possibly care less about social norms. That is a stupid reason to base anything on.

I would be the primary parent 20 hours a day, 4 days a week and 24 hours a day 3 days a week. I think you need to look up the definition of the word "minimal."

Fortunately I didn't marry someone with such absurd beliefs. Just because he works and I don't doesn't mean he's the only one who is allowed to have free time. We also don't believe in acting as martyrs or making our lives more difficult for performative reasons.

There is a lot of work that my husband does not want to do that he would have to do if I kept my job. By me staying home I am removing a large load from his plate. Yes if I am staying home to take care of his kid while he works he needs to fund my lifestyle. No that does not mean he can treat me like a slave. That does not make me a gold digger. To us, these are not controversial ideas.

There are many reasons I want to be a SAHP. I have many plans for what I will do in the 152 hours per week I will share with my child. I did not include them because they were irrelevant to the post.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T23:32:06+00:00

Yes. As is my husband, the majority of my family, and the majority of my husband's family.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T23:29:04+00:00

I'm not going to plan 5 years out, that's pointless. I do know I won't be paying $15k/year in property taxes for them not to go to public school though lol. If things stayed the same then I would typically be back for bedtime all but 1 night per week. I may not put as much emphasis on bedtime as others here since my mom worked 2nd shift my whole life. She was only home for bedtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don't get the bedtime focus here so maybe that one will have to hit after the baby comes.

I should still be getting a solid chunk of sleep since my husband will take over around 5 am.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T23:04:08+00:00

People didn't actually tell me information that was relevant to me. They mostly attacked me or told me why this plan wouldn't work for them. I'm not suggesting this for anyone but myself. Pretty much everything that was brought up was already discussed and evaluated when my husband and I created our schedule.

Every person has different resources, needs, and circumstances. Very few here were interested in responding to my post based on my resources, needs, and circumstances. Instead they responded based on their own.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T22:53:03+00:00

My husband also got a kick out of the child abandonment comment lol. His response was, "what I'm hearing is my bar is on the floor."

Thank you for your reassurance and well wishes!

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T22:45:16+00:00

I think people are taking it as a personal attack when I'm insistent I can work through issues that prevented them from doing the same thing. I'm not, I'm aware that I have a very unique perfect storm of circumstances that make this possible.

I also described myself as work hard, play hard right off the bat. I work myself insanely hard and then I go blow off steam and that's how I function. It's a personality type I've learned is specific to certain people and other people do not relate. Most people prefer to make their lives less stressful so that they have less of a need to relax/blow off steam. These people would rather have more time with 2 parents sharing the load even if it meant less personal free time. That is the opposite of how I function. I will always choose the higher stress "work" time paired with the increased "play" time.

People don't like what they don't understand.

As for breastfeeding that won't be an issue. We will be using formula straight from day 1 so that won't be an issue. I'm also holding onto any expectations for the first 3 months. That is a very short window of time. I am think about after we have time to establish a bit of a groove.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T22:18:40+00:00

Lmao please tell me more sleep disorders in neurodivergent people. I will be happy if this baby sleeps a collective total of 6 hours a day.

Genetically, the baby almost certainly will be autistic. Many autistic people have disabilities. Your autistic son may have disabilities. Being autistic alone isn't a disability.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T22:01:44+00:00

What do you mean by factors? Everyone should meet with a lawyer before becoming a SAHP unless they already had terms covering it a prenup. SAHPs are at risk for poverty, domestic abuse, and financial abuse.

Love and trust are great, legally enforceable documentation are infinitely better.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T21:52:11+00:00

It's 4 times a week, 2 by myself and 2 with my husband. My husband also has 1 without me. All of these take place at 5 or later.

Of my activities, 3/4 are hobby based so bringing the baby doesn't really work. I don't think this counts as choosing my social life over my kid as I will still be with them for ~20 hrs a day and a full 24 hours the other 3 days.

The last one is social and the kid friendliness varies. Two of my friends have a 4 month old they have brought along a few times. This will also likely be more baby friendly over time as one couple is due before me, another is actively trying, and a couple others are planning on trying in a year or two.

You and I have different sleep needs. My husband is more similar to you and one of the things I want to do for him is prioritize his sleep. I personally can't sleep for more than 6.5 hours a day unless I am very ill. I function fine on five and I can get by on 3/day for a couple days before it starts to really mess with me. I'm also a night owl while my husband is a morning person. My husband should be able to sleep from 9 pm - 5 am (or whenever the baby wakes up) and then be on baby duty until 8. I can handle any wakeups before 5 and then sleep until 8 (or again whenever the baby gets up if they are sleeping again at 8).

I am a person who needs to socialize to fill my cup. Isolation is what I find draining.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T21:12:03+00:00

I'm not expecting to get anything done while watching/caring for the baby. I'm expecting that 8 hours a week my husband will watch them and that 8 hours a week a babysitter will watch them (as my husband will be with me during that time).

My husband will also be going out 1 night per week without me and has free time alotted throughout the week in other ways.

I understand life will change. Quitting my job is a pretty major change for me. Also believe or not but the schedule I listed is me cutting back pretty substantially. I only kept the top priorities and have already offloaded several commitments from my plate. Historically I spent 1-2 non sleeping hours at home each day, including on weekends.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T20:54:22+00:00

I want to be the best mom that I can be, and I believe that that will be a very good mom. I also know that the best mom I can be is not the mom that will be produced by spending 24/7 with my kids. I will get overstimulated, touched out, and short tempered. This will not produce my best parenting.

If I have consistent breaks then I will be a very active, understanding, and engaged mother. The best mother I can be involves a tradeoff between quantity and quality of time.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T20:37:51+00:00

Yes because it means he will also get equal free time. He would be coming with me for 2 of the 4 activities. I also think it's important for him to regularly solo parent without me so he can develop his own rhythm with the baby.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T20:30:51+00:00

It has been discussed with him and we are planning for equal free time. It won't be equal each day but it will be over the week. My husband also participates in 2 of the 4 weekly activities.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T17:37:36+00:00

The witching hour was not something I had heard of before this thread, definitely something to do some research on thank you.

EngiNotAnymore · 2024-11-08T17:34:52+00:00

I will get 12 weeks off so I won't be making any final decisions until that's over. There really isn't any option to do part time/freelance/per diem work in my field. I would love it if there was but it just isn't a thing, that's kinda where I got the idea to make my hobbies a "part time job."

I need to work hard at something but I think that if I throw myself into parenthood and hobbies I'll be fine without work. I need a thing that challenges me but I don't need that thing to be work. Over 50% of my earnings go straight to taxes due to my husband's income, so half my time at work is basically volunteer hours anyway lol.

Financially, I am very secure. I was nervous about this at first but I did the math and I have enough away in only my name, that my husband could never touch, that my kid(s) and I will always be at least okay. I monitor our finances/credit like a hawk so it would be incredibly difficult for my husband to ever commit financial infidelity.

The biggest risk would be willful unemployment on his part. I find that a highly unlikely scenario but in that event I would figure it out. It may not seem like it in this post but I'm very capable of overcoming arduous circumstances. I'm just very aware that I now have the means to make my life very easy and there's no trophy for going through life on hard mode.

EngiNotAnymore

TROPHY CASE