“This Isn’t Motivation”: A Picture Of A Gas Station Employee Working While Taking Care Of A Newborn Raises Awareness Of Toxic Positivity Online
Maintaining family life as well as work can be tricky and hard, especially when having kids. It becomes a blessing to have someone besides you who can help with the whole workload. One of the biggest headaches that parents face is how to provide their children with proper care while they are at work. There are a few options such as a good daycare, an experienced nanny, or loving grandparents. However, some parents find it difficult to get help from an institution or simply don’t have money for these services, and some people can’t expect a helping hand from their close ones. It might seem that this only shows how different everyone’s situation is. But in reality, the problem of having to sacrifice time with your kid and find quick and suitable solutions to be able to provide for yourself and your family becomes a serious and sore problem.
We live in a world where people like to express their admiration and support to those who work hard and try their best to achieve great things in life. But it seems that this hype of the “hustle culture” hides some acute problems. Recently, a post with a picture showing a woman working at a gas station while carrying a newborn baby in her arms brought out some pretty strong reactions online.
More Info: Reddit
Admitting that someone is doing great in life is often encouraged as it motivates them to move forward
Image credits: Brad Johnson Williams
The post that had a picture attached stated that the post author saw the woman in one of the gas stations. She worked there as a cashier, but besides her work-related duties, she was also feeding a newborn baby that she held in her arms. The post author appraised the woman for being able to take care of the baby while providing customers with excellent service. The post creator mentioned that this picture might upset some people, but in his own opinion, he sees this situation as a source of inspiration and motivation for other hard-working parents. A screenshot of this post was shared on a subreddit called r/antiwork. Here users started a heated debate on the matter.
But this wasn’t the case when a post showing a woman working at a gas station with a newborn started circulating online
Image credits: Brad Johnson Williams
One Reddit user decided to re-share this post stating that this situation shouldn’t be celebrated
Image credits: hypochloritesprite
According to the Reddit user @hypochloritesprite, this picture first surfaced in 2019, and the woman that was holding the baby is thought to be the newborn’s grandmother. Despite the missing facts on who this woman is and what is the real situation behind this picture, the post itself made users online start a discussion on several problems.
First, it was noticed that even though this post was written in order to express one’s appreciation and admiration for working moms, a lot of people online found this to be an example of toxic positivity and poverty p**n. Members believed that this and similar situations shouldn’t be promoted as inspiring examples, especially knowing that this is not done to spread awareness of people’s struggles, but rather to generate likes and exposure.
The first impression when seeing the post left people wondering the truth behind the picture
People online were quick to name a few problems that came to mind when seeing the post
Despite this picture circulating on the internet for quite some time, it is still relevant to this day. A lot of members of Reddit found that the circumstances to which parents have to adapt are unthoughtful and sometimes even cruel. Some people thought that the problem lies in the way capitalism works, thinking that work and money are more important than the employees and their welfare. There were other examples revealed by users who also witnessed kids having to come to their parents’ workplace because there were no other places they could be left at. It was agreed that what such people need is not recognition or a good word, but rather useful benefits such as vacation time, paid maternity, and paternity leave.
What is your take on this situation? Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments down below!
Users agreed that such stories shouldn’t be glorified but rather seen as examples of toxic positivity
For some users, it became clear that very often parents have to struggle because they don’t get proper benefits such as maternity leave
It appeared that there are more examples of people having to take their kids to work because they couldn’t go to a daycare or have a nanny
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Share on FacebookI wonder whether Americans actually realise they're living in a dystopian sh*thole third world country? In my country statutory maternity leave is 52 weeks. Statutory maternity pay is for 39 weeks, but most companies offer more than that- and it's not unusual to get the full 52. You cannot be dismissed during that time and you have a legal right to return to the exact same job. And yet somehow, all of our BP gas stations remain open... I wonder how we do it???
We definitely aren't a 3rd world country but to answer your question about half of us (the educated half) do know our country sucks
Load More Replies...Free education. Free healthcare. Free child daycare. Free legal representation. Freely functioning unions. Maternity/paternity leave. Paid vacation. Paid sick leave. You want a properly functioning society where every person has the opportunity to strive for better? That's how you do it. America, sadly, is not a properly functioning society, it's an absolutely broken one.
"Free" is the key word right? They pay all the taxes but instead of taking care of its people, it goes to BS programs like Nasa and hidden programs. The taxes should be for taking care of the people like Canada or many other places.
Load More Replies...I can only imagine how lucky that woman feels to be ABLE to take her baby to work. Maternity leave in the USA is just a couple of weeks and daycare is not subsidised or supported by the government. So she has the chance to take care of her child AND earn money. Most women in her position would end up struggling, because daycare costs more than they would earn in that job, so they would struggle to work at all. It's not right, but in the USA, she's one of the lucky ones.
Correction : maternity leave in the USA is ZERO days
Load More Replies...My country has TWO YEARS of paid maternity leave!!! I still didn’t find it enough, but when I think American moms have to go back to work in a few weeks it makes me sick :( I guess that’s one reason why many American women become housewives?
Two years! Holy smokes...which Country are you in? That is amazing.
Load More Replies...Growing up in Asia I was naive enough to think this was normal as we considered to live in a "third world Country". Now I've grown up realized this is not okay and whilst I'm feeling grateful to live in Canada (free health care), the living cost as parents here are just as expensive in the USA. The truth breaks my heart and now I fully-aware and understand why toxic positivity is not a good thing. North America can do better, I don't have kids myself but I would support any cause that can help support parents out there to be able to afford healthy and safe condition to raise kids; whether better health care plans, longer maternity and paternity leaves, or affordable (even better make them free) daycare to avoid situation like this lady. No women should have endured what she did, she is a strong woman with a hard life.
Always been disgusted with America's lack of caring for the elderly and its youth. Frankly, everyone in betwee AND their utter lack of respect for everyone else. There is NOTHING wrong with taking a newborn with you as long as it's safe for baby obviously(especially a breastfeeding newborn-yes it's a bottle but its breast milk qnd again, a newborn). I'm in Canada and we get a year of paid maternity/paternity leave. Parents can split up the time if they want or just one. Some companies give additional paid time off. I've heard alot of Americans say they get 2 or 3 weeks(momma only) unpaid. Your vagina/body isn't even HEALED in that time! Awful! I have and will always say "I'm tired of the USA claiming to be the best country. It never has been and clearly has no desire to actually be the greatest." Treat your citizens better. Without them, the future of your country is done for. You won't have that military you rely on if you keep treating your people like garbage.
I don't think anybody is shaming her for taking the child the whole point of this is we know because we live here that she didn't bring this kid to work because she wanted to because she wanted to be close to newborn or she's taking her child to work day sad reality is she cannot leave the child with anybody else she cannot afford to if she was in an office and they had a safe room I agree she brings a kid nobody cares but the fact is is gas stations are dangerous they get held up you get crazy people in there all the time and she's putting herself and that child in danger because she doesn't have a choice in the matter
Load More Replies...This is EXACTLY why I said on Facebook that America is NOT the best Country. I was told to leave if I don’t like living here. I love America but there is a lot the F wrong with it pretty much since Day 1. Take care of yourself before you take care of someone else. I guess the government missed that rule.
the thing is many americans seem to think they live in the best country in the world. even if it were the truth why not make it even better with maternity leaves, pensions, health care etc? why are they saying ok we dont have health care but we are the best in the world. why dont they say we are the best and lets go even further and be even better???? this is beyond me...and obviosuly it is not the best nor the worst, there are always + and -
Load More Replies...I was in taco bell a few weeks ago and there was a toddler girl and little boy around 10 months in a high chair at a table almost behind the counter. Obviously worker's children. It was a weekday, daycare was open. I was mad for this woman. I have been in here shoes. Daycare for 2 kids about 10 years ago was about $170 a week. You could get government help, but you had to be put on a waiting list that, at the time, was over a year long.
It took me until I was 13 to realize that going to work with my mom to be her "special helper" at one of her five jobs on days I didn't have school WASN'T NORMAL. Other kids didn't do that all the time, they had babysitters or daycare. My mom worked 3 to 5 jobs just to afford rent and food.
She does the best she can in a difficult situation but I agree that this is not something that should be an "inspiration for other moms". Here you can't put your child in daycare until they are at least 1yr. Until then mom/dad is home with the child and it's covered up to 85% of your salary. That's considered the minimum amount to build proper attachment, you can stay home longer if you have the income to cover that and most moms who can't afford to be off work longer get a bit of shame for going back "so soon" (at 1yr). Sure, if you don't have that option it's better for the baby/attachment to stay with mom (like this) rather than with strangers but it should not be needed. And she must be exhausted. Someone please give her a baby carrier at least so she can be hands-free.
While I don't share the sentiment on that being an "motivation to other moms", I do respect that woman's tenacity to plough on. If anything deserves recognition it is that.
I agree, some things here are way over due for a overhaul. Places hire more part time then full time and many times, part time jobs have little to no benefits.
I had a slightly different thought on this. But first I should say that I'm all for extended postnatal leave and more affordable daycare. BUT it also was the norm for thousands of years for mothers to have their infants and young children strapped to their bodies while they worked in the fields or doing whatever needed to be done. It shouldn't be such a taboo for parents (because dads should be able to do it too!) to have their kids with them while working.
It used to be a norm to throw away 'broken' infants. Or unwanted ones. I know some people love to carry their little ones everywhere they go, but it shouldn't be their only choice. What would this woman do if armed robbers came to her store? It's America after all.
Load More Replies...I don't know if I believe this. I've never seen a work place (with office work being the exception but even those are rare) that would let you bring a baby to work. The owner would not want to be responsible if something were to happen to that baby. We may be a capitalist country but we are more so a litigious country and the liability a baby brings would be way too much for a company to take on.
I've done this. I've been forced to bring my child to work. Not one employee ever sent me home. They set up a place for my daughter made me work and told me I couldn't do it again but of course I had to. I did it until they were fed up and I'd quit. It was crappy I had to do this at all. I also had to quit two jobs bc my child was sick and they wouldn't let me call out more than twice. Women are always valued on what they sacrifice like op wrote. We shouldn't have to sacrifice at all.
Load More Replies...And this, among many, many other things is why I bless taxes. I pay them so very happily, all 33%, because they’re such an unfathomable bargain. Childcare, healthcare, medication, school, care for the elderly - all of them and much more paid for with taxes so that everyone has access to it. With taxes comes equality and safety, and I will never cease to be grateful that I live in a country that understands that. Never.
Some people don't realize how hard single moms work. My daughter's daycare closes at 4, so if she's made to work over at a nursing home & I can't get off work early; she has to leave work for 15 min(that's her break) pick up baby from daycare pick older 2 from elementary school & take them back to work. Administration dissent say anything because they're afraid she will quit & they are 50% understaffed now. Welcome to Nursing Homes of America
If childcare were more affordable, or free like public schools, this wouldn't happen. They say having children is a choice, but make sure you can afford it first, but then they go and start taking that choice away from us by banning reproductive freedom and birth control. Make up your minds you cretins! America sucks when it comes to families, and the worst when it comes to caring for those families. Yet it forces those families on people.
You know how many fking times I had to bring my daughter to work as a baby because I couldn't afford daycare and no one could watch her? Not even her sperm donar? Yeah living in the USA has perks. But not a whole f*****g lot of them. This poor mom. I feel for her.
I had to take both of my kids to work with me. I am a single parent with a 22-year- old and a 6-year-old. Been there too many times to count. It doesn't bother me because I was brought up to do what you have to to get by. Daycare is often the same as a week's wages in most places. All daycare should be sliding scale based. You pay a certain amount based on your net pay
That's how daycare works in many countries, based on income. It's actually better for the economy because it allows more people to work and make a living and bring in taxes rather than not afford daycare and be at home on welfare. It's quite simple.
Load More Replies...In Italy you can choose between 3 types of paid maternity leave: 2 months before you give birth + 3 months afterward, 1+4 or... 0+5 (yes, you can give birth in the office if you wish 🤔) If you are not so brave as to work until the little creature is born, you should be back when your child is 3 or 4 months old. Then, if you can afford being paid 30% of your salary you can take further 6 months. And your colleagues and boss will probably think that you are lazy and basically stealing money. Do those who make our laws know how little a boy or a girl of 3 months is and how many hours a night does the mum of a newborn sleep? I was back to work when my first born was 5 months old and I was regularly fainting and vomiting due to the extreme tirediness. With my little girl I'll take one more month and I'll be in the office as soon as she is 6 months old. My colleagues almost certainly believe I'm selfish and will make my life impossibile when I'm back.
I also had to take my 1yr old son to work with me & we walked in the winter time in SD. I wouldn't want anyone to pity me or my circumstances, as I am very grateful for all in my life, and how I got to where I am... SIDE NOTE* After opening up the store at 6am, a family member came to get my son a few hours later. I currently need 12 more credits to have my AA in business administration and I have a vehicle.. Life is GREAT
Imagine how much better it would have been & how much more you could have achieve had you not gone through that. Still, you had help. Many don't even have family to help.
Load More Replies...We only have the *right* to take maternity leave. Not gaurenteed maternity leave/paid leave (depending on where u work ig)
And she is STANDING UP because too many cashiers in the US in places are not allowed to sit.
why though? in europe cashiers sit and the shops are still standing
Load More Replies...I was fortunate to have some savings when I had my baby, so I took 10 months off, because I knew I wanted to spend that time with her. But is was so hard trying to get back to work again! Most of the employers did not like that 8-month gap on my resume and kept asking about it. I was like "Are you serious?? Since when wanting to stay with your newborn is a bad career move???" Also, a lot of them saw my kid as a liability and did not want to hire a single mother, because they knew I would not do overtime nor work weekends. they would give excuses like I'm underqualified or overqualified, but I could tell the main reason was that they needed a slave and I could not be one.
Reading this immediately after the mother who had to go back to work after 12 weeks having given birth to a premature baby makes me sad for the US. Here's a country that's trying to make abortion illegal again because life is sacred ...until that life is outside the womb and then it means nothing at all. Certainly, mothers are treated like cogs in the machine and their children are just an inconvenience. It's sad and I don't know how a country can consider itself first world when it won't look after its mothers, its children, and let's face it, anyone who's sick.
Yep yep yep. I remember those days. Being a single mother of an autistic child for over 16 years. 0 support from my family, only harassment and constant belittling from my ex and perfect strangers. Got fired so many times for not having reliable child care, because my son was rather violent and would constantly get kicked out. I feel really bad for the lady in this picture. I hope she is able to get some help
6 or 12 weeks of unpaid leave is inhumane. This situation being in such a vulnerable place and state with a child who can barely maintain its own body temp and hasn't even gotten its first round of real shots is a danger to the child. However, with the struggles most Americans face financially I completely understand why this lady has to do this. But really this a** hat thinks mom's need motivation to put their kids safety at risk for the pursuit of financial stability. Real talk, I would feel sorry for his wife and kids if he tries to push her to do this. I wouldn't just call this toxic positivity but also blatant ignorance with willful disregard.
America IS A 3rd world country! Trust me I have a Rare stomach condition because of STARVING for YEARS While my family blamed me, Even though they Could have Helped me. Sadly the ONLY Thing that KINDA pulled us out of that kind of poverty was the stimulus checks, We still live in a rundown hotel, But we have a car now and my Wonderful Hardworking husband can now work 2 jobs one that doesn't give a liveable wage, and the new one that gives a liveable wage. We live in Connecticut, THE Most Expensive State to live in. There is a Reason most Celebrities No longer have homes in your state, the cost of living is Unliveable Because of all the damn Insurance companies forcing it up... I look at other countries and thank "No Wonder America is the laughingstock of the world, it is like the American elite are trying to pass of a giant 💩 They encrusted with priceless gems as "The Holy Grail" when in reality it is just a gem encrusted Turd." A turd is a turd is a turd On matter How You dress it.
All throughout history until now, families typically worked TOGETHER. This is not toxic, this is a beautiful things. Stop shaming these women and making them feel ashamed, guilty or like they're being treated unequally. By far most do not feel that way, in fact most women would love to do this. Stop taking mothers from their children, liberalism sucks!
most women would like to heal after giving birth and bond with their child at home, not stand on their legs the whole shift with a baby strapped to them
Load More Replies...The people calling America a third world country don't know what that actually means. "First, second, and third world" has absolutely nothing to do with actual money or current position in the world... The terms were made up after WWII to describe countries position in the war Third world countries were the ones that couldn't afford to get involved, first world were the victors, second world, a term we don't often see, went to Germany, Japan, Italy, ETC. The losers.
as far as i remember it was 1) capitalist world, e.g US and Western Europe 2) communist block: USSR, Eastern+Central Europe, Cuba, North Korea, China 3) countries not involved, mostly poor. so that is why when saying 3rd word we mean poor although the original meaning does not mean poor necessarily
Load More Replies...People hire someone to do a job. They are not responsible to help us raise our children too. How many small businesses can afford to pay for your insurance to have a child and pay for you to stay home with them too? These comments sound like spoiled children. This is America where you have the opportunity to own a business for your family and community. It is ridiculous to expect so much. With this thinking only large corporations will be employers. It is YOUR responsibility to raise YOUR child. NOT your boss or neighbor. Children deserve to have a parent that stays home. If you choose to work don't have kids.
there should be a state paid maternity leave like in other civilised countries
Load More Replies...Businesses used to not hire women for this very reason. Children deserve to have their mothers at home. We leave our children with strangers at schools and day care more than we are with them. The purpose of marriage was to make sure two people could care for a child. We need to go back to old fashioned morals and not put our children last. It is not a company or tax payer's responsibility to help us raise our children. People need to take responsibility for their own actions and consequences.
If you do not work you depend on your husband or on whoever else brings the money at home. It can lead to abuse, since being fiancially dependent on someone means not being free to go away if this person harms you or your children. And if your husband loses his job, it is definitely a problem. Women must take it into account. Moreover, children are going to grow up one day. Finding a job when you are 40 (or more) is difficult, especially if your 'professional experience' is limited.
Load More Replies...With that mentality it would be only about a hundred thousand people on this earth and YOU wouldn't be one of them
Load More Replies...Aside from the general discussion about poor working conditions, I feel it's unfair to discuss this particular picture and make assumptions. If as it says above the picture has actually been around the for a few years now, the post that started this conversation is completely made up. For all we know the family may own the gas station and she could be stepping in to help out for a short period while someone runs an errand etc. Or an emergency could have resulted in her needing to have the child with her as a one off. Who knows. If we find out the circumstances and it turns out she has needed to bring a baby to work because of poverty, lack of maternity leave etc, then by all means hold this up as what is wrong, but don't start putting an image of this woman all over the internet and making up scenarios without her input
I wonder whether Americans actually realise they're living in a dystopian sh*thole third world country? In my country statutory maternity leave is 52 weeks. Statutory maternity pay is for 39 weeks, but most companies offer more than that- and it's not unusual to get the full 52. You cannot be dismissed during that time and you have a legal right to return to the exact same job. And yet somehow, all of our BP gas stations remain open... I wonder how we do it???
We definitely aren't a 3rd world country but to answer your question about half of us (the educated half) do know our country sucks
Load More Replies...Free education. Free healthcare. Free child daycare. Free legal representation. Freely functioning unions. Maternity/paternity leave. Paid vacation. Paid sick leave. You want a properly functioning society where every person has the opportunity to strive for better? That's how you do it. America, sadly, is not a properly functioning society, it's an absolutely broken one.
"Free" is the key word right? They pay all the taxes but instead of taking care of its people, it goes to BS programs like Nasa and hidden programs. The taxes should be for taking care of the people like Canada or many other places.
Load More Replies...I can only imagine how lucky that woman feels to be ABLE to take her baby to work. Maternity leave in the USA is just a couple of weeks and daycare is not subsidised or supported by the government. So she has the chance to take care of her child AND earn money. Most women in her position would end up struggling, because daycare costs more than they would earn in that job, so they would struggle to work at all. It's not right, but in the USA, she's one of the lucky ones.
Correction : maternity leave in the USA is ZERO days
Load More Replies...My country has TWO YEARS of paid maternity leave!!! I still didn’t find it enough, but when I think American moms have to go back to work in a few weeks it makes me sick :( I guess that’s one reason why many American women become housewives?
Two years! Holy smokes...which Country are you in? That is amazing.
Load More Replies...Growing up in Asia I was naive enough to think this was normal as we considered to live in a "third world Country". Now I've grown up realized this is not okay and whilst I'm feeling grateful to live in Canada (free health care), the living cost as parents here are just as expensive in the USA. The truth breaks my heart and now I fully-aware and understand why toxic positivity is not a good thing. North America can do better, I don't have kids myself but I would support any cause that can help support parents out there to be able to afford healthy and safe condition to raise kids; whether better health care plans, longer maternity and paternity leaves, or affordable (even better make them free) daycare to avoid situation like this lady. No women should have endured what she did, she is a strong woman with a hard life.
Always been disgusted with America's lack of caring for the elderly and its youth. Frankly, everyone in betwee AND their utter lack of respect for everyone else. There is NOTHING wrong with taking a newborn with you as long as it's safe for baby obviously(especially a breastfeeding newborn-yes it's a bottle but its breast milk qnd again, a newborn). I'm in Canada and we get a year of paid maternity/paternity leave. Parents can split up the time if they want or just one. Some companies give additional paid time off. I've heard alot of Americans say they get 2 or 3 weeks(momma only) unpaid. Your vagina/body isn't even HEALED in that time! Awful! I have and will always say "I'm tired of the USA claiming to be the best country. It never has been and clearly has no desire to actually be the greatest." Treat your citizens better. Without them, the future of your country is done for. You won't have that military you rely on if you keep treating your people like garbage.
I don't think anybody is shaming her for taking the child the whole point of this is we know because we live here that she didn't bring this kid to work because she wanted to because she wanted to be close to newborn or she's taking her child to work day sad reality is she cannot leave the child with anybody else she cannot afford to if she was in an office and they had a safe room I agree she brings a kid nobody cares but the fact is is gas stations are dangerous they get held up you get crazy people in there all the time and she's putting herself and that child in danger because she doesn't have a choice in the matter
Load More Replies...This is EXACTLY why I said on Facebook that America is NOT the best Country. I was told to leave if I don’t like living here. I love America but there is a lot the F wrong with it pretty much since Day 1. Take care of yourself before you take care of someone else. I guess the government missed that rule.
the thing is many americans seem to think they live in the best country in the world. even if it were the truth why not make it even better with maternity leaves, pensions, health care etc? why are they saying ok we dont have health care but we are the best in the world. why dont they say we are the best and lets go even further and be even better???? this is beyond me...and obviosuly it is not the best nor the worst, there are always + and -
Load More Replies...I was in taco bell a few weeks ago and there was a toddler girl and little boy around 10 months in a high chair at a table almost behind the counter. Obviously worker's children. It was a weekday, daycare was open. I was mad for this woman. I have been in here shoes. Daycare for 2 kids about 10 years ago was about $170 a week. You could get government help, but you had to be put on a waiting list that, at the time, was over a year long.
It took me until I was 13 to realize that going to work with my mom to be her "special helper" at one of her five jobs on days I didn't have school WASN'T NORMAL. Other kids didn't do that all the time, they had babysitters or daycare. My mom worked 3 to 5 jobs just to afford rent and food.
She does the best she can in a difficult situation but I agree that this is not something that should be an "inspiration for other moms". Here you can't put your child in daycare until they are at least 1yr. Until then mom/dad is home with the child and it's covered up to 85% of your salary. That's considered the minimum amount to build proper attachment, you can stay home longer if you have the income to cover that and most moms who can't afford to be off work longer get a bit of shame for going back "so soon" (at 1yr). Sure, if you don't have that option it's better for the baby/attachment to stay with mom (like this) rather than with strangers but it should not be needed. And she must be exhausted. Someone please give her a baby carrier at least so she can be hands-free.
While I don't share the sentiment on that being an "motivation to other moms", I do respect that woman's tenacity to plough on. If anything deserves recognition it is that.
I agree, some things here are way over due for a overhaul. Places hire more part time then full time and many times, part time jobs have little to no benefits.
I had a slightly different thought on this. But first I should say that I'm all for extended postnatal leave and more affordable daycare. BUT it also was the norm for thousands of years for mothers to have their infants and young children strapped to their bodies while they worked in the fields or doing whatever needed to be done. It shouldn't be such a taboo for parents (because dads should be able to do it too!) to have their kids with them while working.
It used to be a norm to throw away 'broken' infants. Or unwanted ones. I know some people love to carry their little ones everywhere they go, but it shouldn't be their only choice. What would this woman do if armed robbers came to her store? It's America after all.
Load More Replies...I don't know if I believe this. I've never seen a work place (with office work being the exception but even those are rare) that would let you bring a baby to work. The owner would not want to be responsible if something were to happen to that baby. We may be a capitalist country but we are more so a litigious country and the liability a baby brings would be way too much for a company to take on.
I've done this. I've been forced to bring my child to work. Not one employee ever sent me home. They set up a place for my daughter made me work and told me I couldn't do it again but of course I had to. I did it until they were fed up and I'd quit. It was crappy I had to do this at all. I also had to quit two jobs bc my child was sick and they wouldn't let me call out more than twice. Women are always valued on what they sacrifice like op wrote. We shouldn't have to sacrifice at all.
Load More Replies...And this, among many, many other things is why I bless taxes. I pay them so very happily, all 33%, because they’re such an unfathomable bargain. Childcare, healthcare, medication, school, care for the elderly - all of them and much more paid for with taxes so that everyone has access to it. With taxes comes equality and safety, and I will never cease to be grateful that I live in a country that understands that. Never.
Some people don't realize how hard single moms work. My daughter's daycare closes at 4, so if she's made to work over at a nursing home & I can't get off work early; she has to leave work for 15 min(that's her break) pick up baby from daycare pick older 2 from elementary school & take them back to work. Administration dissent say anything because they're afraid she will quit & they are 50% understaffed now. Welcome to Nursing Homes of America
If childcare were more affordable, or free like public schools, this wouldn't happen. They say having children is a choice, but make sure you can afford it first, but then they go and start taking that choice away from us by banning reproductive freedom and birth control. Make up your minds you cretins! America sucks when it comes to families, and the worst when it comes to caring for those families. Yet it forces those families on people.
You know how many fking times I had to bring my daughter to work as a baby because I couldn't afford daycare and no one could watch her? Not even her sperm donar? Yeah living in the USA has perks. But not a whole f*****g lot of them. This poor mom. I feel for her.
I had to take both of my kids to work with me. I am a single parent with a 22-year- old and a 6-year-old. Been there too many times to count. It doesn't bother me because I was brought up to do what you have to to get by. Daycare is often the same as a week's wages in most places. All daycare should be sliding scale based. You pay a certain amount based on your net pay
That's how daycare works in many countries, based on income. It's actually better for the economy because it allows more people to work and make a living and bring in taxes rather than not afford daycare and be at home on welfare. It's quite simple.
Load More Replies...In Italy you can choose between 3 types of paid maternity leave: 2 months before you give birth + 3 months afterward, 1+4 or... 0+5 (yes, you can give birth in the office if you wish 🤔) If you are not so brave as to work until the little creature is born, you should be back when your child is 3 or 4 months old. Then, if you can afford being paid 30% of your salary you can take further 6 months. And your colleagues and boss will probably think that you are lazy and basically stealing money. Do those who make our laws know how little a boy or a girl of 3 months is and how many hours a night does the mum of a newborn sleep? I was back to work when my first born was 5 months old and I was regularly fainting and vomiting due to the extreme tirediness. With my little girl I'll take one more month and I'll be in the office as soon as she is 6 months old. My colleagues almost certainly believe I'm selfish and will make my life impossibile when I'm back.
I also had to take my 1yr old son to work with me & we walked in the winter time in SD. I wouldn't want anyone to pity me or my circumstances, as I am very grateful for all in my life, and how I got to where I am... SIDE NOTE* After opening up the store at 6am, a family member came to get my son a few hours later. I currently need 12 more credits to have my AA in business administration and I have a vehicle.. Life is GREAT
Imagine how much better it would have been & how much more you could have achieve had you not gone through that. Still, you had help. Many don't even have family to help.
Load More Replies...We only have the *right* to take maternity leave. Not gaurenteed maternity leave/paid leave (depending on where u work ig)
And she is STANDING UP because too many cashiers in the US in places are not allowed to sit.
why though? in europe cashiers sit and the shops are still standing
Load More Replies...I was fortunate to have some savings when I had my baby, so I took 10 months off, because I knew I wanted to spend that time with her. But is was so hard trying to get back to work again! Most of the employers did not like that 8-month gap on my resume and kept asking about it. I was like "Are you serious?? Since when wanting to stay with your newborn is a bad career move???" Also, a lot of them saw my kid as a liability and did not want to hire a single mother, because they knew I would not do overtime nor work weekends. they would give excuses like I'm underqualified or overqualified, but I could tell the main reason was that they needed a slave and I could not be one.
Reading this immediately after the mother who had to go back to work after 12 weeks having given birth to a premature baby makes me sad for the US. Here's a country that's trying to make abortion illegal again because life is sacred ...until that life is outside the womb and then it means nothing at all. Certainly, mothers are treated like cogs in the machine and their children are just an inconvenience. It's sad and I don't know how a country can consider itself first world when it won't look after its mothers, its children, and let's face it, anyone who's sick.
Yep yep yep. I remember those days. Being a single mother of an autistic child for over 16 years. 0 support from my family, only harassment and constant belittling from my ex and perfect strangers. Got fired so many times for not having reliable child care, because my son was rather violent and would constantly get kicked out. I feel really bad for the lady in this picture. I hope she is able to get some help
6 or 12 weeks of unpaid leave is inhumane. This situation being in such a vulnerable place and state with a child who can barely maintain its own body temp and hasn't even gotten its first round of real shots is a danger to the child. However, with the struggles most Americans face financially I completely understand why this lady has to do this. But really this a** hat thinks mom's need motivation to put their kids safety at risk for the pursuit of financial stability. Real talk, I would feel sorry for his wife and kids if he tries to push her to do this. I wouldn't just call this toxic positivity but also blatant ignorance with willful disregard.
America IS A 3rd world country! Trust me I have a Rare stomach condition because of STARVING for YEARS While my family blamed me, Even though they Could have Helped me. Sadly the ONLY Thing that KINDA pulled us out of that kind of poverty was the stimulus checks, We still live in a rundown hotel, But we have a car now and my Wonderful Hardworking husband can now work 2 jobs one that doesn't give a liveable wage, and the new one that gives a liveable wage. We live in Connecticut, THE Most Expensive State to live in. There is a Reason most Celebrities No longer have homes in your state, the cost of living is Unliveable Because of all the damn Insurance companies forcing it up... I look at other countries and thank "No Wonder America is the laughingstock of the world, it is like the American elite are trying to pass of a giant 💩 They encrusted with priceless gems as "The Holy Grail" when in reality it is just a gem encrusted Turd." A turd is a turd is a turd On matter How You dress it.
All throughout history until now, families typically worked TOGETHER. This is not toxic, this is a beautiful things. Stop shaming these women and making them feel ashamed, guilty or like they're being treated unequally. By far most do not feel that way, in fact most women would love to do this. Stop taking mothers from their children, liberalism sucks!
most women would like to heal after giving birth and bond with their child at home, not stand on their legs the whole shift with a baby strapped to them
Load More Replies...The people calling America a third world country don't know what that actually means. "First, second, and third world" has absolutely nothing to do with actual money or current position in the world... The terms were made up after WWII to describe countries position in the war Third world countries were the ones that couldn't afford to get involved, first world were the victors, second world, a term we don't often see, went to Germany, Japan, Italy, ETC. The losers.
as far as i remember it was 1) capitalist world, e.g US and Western Europe 2) communist block: USSR, Eastern+Central Europe, Cuba, North Korea, China 3) countries not involved, mostly poor. so that is why when saying 3rd word we mean poor although the original meaning does not mean poor necessarily
Load More Replies...People hire someone to do a job. They are not responsible to help us raise our children too. How many small businesses can afford to pay for your insurance to have a child and pay for you to stay home with them too? These comments sound like spoiled children. This is America where you have the opportunity to own a business for your family and community. It is ridiculous to expect so much. With this thinking only large corporations will be employers. It is YOUR responsibility to raise YOUR child. NOT your boss or neighbor. Children deserve to have a parent that stays home. If you choose to work don't have kids.
there should be a state paid maternity leave like in other civilised countries
Load More Replies...Businesses used to not hire women for this very reason. Children deserve to have their mothers at home. We leave our children with strangers at schools and day care more than we are with them. The purpose of marriage was to make sure two people could care for a child. We need to go back to old fashioned morals and not put our children last. It is not a company or tax payer's responsibility to help us raise our children. People need to take responsibility for their own actions and consequences.
If you do not work you depend on your husband or on whoever else brings the money at home. It can lead to abuse, since being fiancially dependent on someone means not being free to go away if this person harms you or your children. And if your husband loses his job, it is definitely a problem. Women must take it into account. Moreover, children are going to grow up one day. Finding a job when you are 40 (or more) is difficult, especially if your 'professional experience' is limited.
Load More Replies...With that mentality it would be only about a hundred thousand people on this earth and YOU wouldn't be one of them
Load More Replies...Aside from the general discussion about poor working conditions, I feel it's unfair to discuss this particular picture and make assumptions. If as it says above the picture has actually been around the for a few years now, the post that started this conversation is completely made up. For all we know the family may own the gas station and she could be stepping in to help out for a short period while someone runs an errand etc. Or an emergency could have resulted in her needing to have the child with her as a one off. Who knows. If we find out the circumstances and it turns out she has needed to bring a baby to work because of poverty, lack of maternity leave etc, then by all means hold this up as what is wrong, but don't start putting an image of this woman all over the internet and making up scenarios without her input
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