“I'm Sorry You Had a Bad Day, but Tomorrow will be Better”: Stratagems of Interpersonal Emotional Management in Narratives of Fathers in Christian Homeschooling Households

Motherhood, homeschooling, and mental health

“…These religious homeschooling fathers considered their contributions to the homeschooling process to include developing “the vision” (p. 300) for their home school, justifying the process to their children, being the disciplinarian, and assisting with decision making. These men also supported their wives by praying for them, making decisions, giving them emotional and financial support, and occasionally giving their wives some time to themselves (Vigilant et al, ). Furthermore, these conservative Christian homeschooling fathers saw the stress experienced by their wives as “spiritual warfare” (Vigilant et al, , p. 299) meant to discourage the family from homeschooling, which could be seen as invalidating the feelings of the teacher–mother.…”

“…These men also supported their wives by praying for them, making decisions, giving them emotional and financial support, and occasionally giving their wives some time to themselves (Vigilant et al, ). Furthermore, these conservative Christian homeschooling fathers saw the stress experienced by their wives as “spiritual warfare” (Vigilant et al, , p. 299) meant to discourage the family from homeschooling, which could be seen as invalidating the feelings of the teacher–mother. However, these husbands view this labor as belonging to their wives, in addition to her duties of taking care of her husband and the home (Vigilant et al, ).…”

“…Furthermore, these conservative Christian homeschooling fathers saw the stress experienced by their wives as "spiritual warfare" (Vigilant et al, 2014, p. 299) meant to discourage the family from homeschooling, which could be seen as invalidating the feelings of the teacher-mother. However, these husbands view this labor as belonging to their wives, in addition to her duties of taking care of her husband and the home (Vigilant et al, 2014).…”

“…According to Vigilant, Anderson, and Trefethren () and Lois (), in conservative Christian households, families tend to subscribe to the traditional family where the husband is head of the house, and, as for most homeschooling families, the mother is almost always the teacher–parent. The husbands in this study considered their most important role as the “spiritual leader” (p. 300) for their family.…”

“…The husbands in this study considered their most important role as the “spiritual leader” (p. 300) for their family. The men interviewed by Vigilant et al () expressed supporting their wives by taking the position of the “principal” or “superintendent” (p. 300) while their wife takes on the role of teacher.…”