“Americans extol motherhood as “the most important job in the world,” yet when couples divorce, mothers’ and their children’s standards of living usually decline precipitously, while fathers’ rise. Crittenden, a former economics reporter for the New York Times, lays out the going rate for a woman’s time: “$150 an hour or more as a professional, $50 an hour or more in some businesses, $15 an hour or so as a teacher, $5 to $8 an hour as a day-care worker and zero as a mother.” Mothers (whose labor is not calculated in any official economic index) have no unemployment insurance to tide them over after divorce, no workers’ compensation if they’re injured and no Social Security benefits for the work they do, although a housekeeper or nanny paid for the same work would earn such benefits. ”
~ read more about the book "The Price of Motherhood"
Child support is not a plush fund that one parent gives to another as a sugar daddy would give to his mistress. It’s the right of the custodial parent whose job is non stop. Child support is note soley for purchased items, but should include the true value of raising a child and the work ethic and care that goes into developing a healthy well-balanced human who will eventually contribute to society.
Considering the profound responsibility of this "job", single parents should receive the maximum amount possible, without shame or resentment.