Another catch for at-home parents in tough economic times is this: Rising prices not only make it harder to live off one income — it is also more riskier to put the family’s financial eggs in one basket.
“Dual-earner couples probably help to recession-proof the economy to some extent,” said Janet Hyde, UW-Madison professor of psychology. “If both parents are employed and one is laid off, the economic impact on the family is devastating, but less devastating than if the laid-off person were the sole earner. Families with a stay-at-home parent don’t have that economic cushion.”