Quote:
Originally Posted by mercedesjin
It's definitely important to raise children properly and make sure they understand the values of whichever society they live in.
However, it's not only the woman's role to raise the child. Fathers are important too, and I'm sure children can benefit from stay-at-home dads just as much as stay-at-home moms.
Why should only women risk their futures and lives in these economic societies?
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There is a biological aspect to this. Women produce milk, men do not. Formula is available, and is *close* to breastmilk, but is only a substitute and in many cases is not a financially feasible option. I don`t think anyone would challenge the fact that breastmilk is best for the child.
In cultures where it is harder to secure breastmilk substitutes or safe "baby food" it is perfectly normal for a child to drink breast milk as the main staple of their diet until one or two. It would be impossible for a man to pull this off. If formula were not there, then the baby would die even with 24 hour care from the most dedicated father while mom was out working full time.
Japan believes strongly in feeding by breast as much as possible. If a mother takes the first year off, it is much easy to transition into her being the main "stay-at-home" part of the family as, no matter how understanding her workplace is, it would be very hard to leap from a year of parenting to full time full production in a company. There is no such transition for a father.