A few weeks ago, a recruiter from ABC TV’s Wife Swap contacted me through my web site, www.ParenTeam.com. Apparently, they were looking for families with dads who are heavily involved in their children’s lives, and being in a SAHD (stay-at-home dad) family, we fit the bill.
For $20,000 when the show airs, I would agree to fly to an undisclosed location to swap places with a woman who has agreed to do the same. My “swapped” family would likely be one in which the husband is never home, never spends time with his family and doesn’t even know the names of his children anymore. My family would get this husband’s poor wife.
For $20,000 when the show airs, my family would have to spend two weeks with this woman, a total stranger. My children and husband would have to appear around town with her and parade across national TV with our doors wide open for all to see and hear.
For $20,000, I would have to conjure up confrontations with the absent husband, tell him he is wrong in his ways, and devise ideas to force him to see his errors. (Wife Swap always likes good drama in the form of arguments.) Likewise, my husband and the “other woman” would be “encouraged” by the show to create their own drama.
For $20,000 when the show airs, we would have little privacy, and our friends, neighbors and relatives would see us completely exposed, as it was, warts and all.
For $20,000, I would be away from my family for about two weeks. Since we live in an urban area, my husband worried that the “other woman” might be from a rural area and unfamiliar with city living. I worried about not being able to tuck in my own children at bedtime and what it would be like to tuck in somebody elses--in their own home while somebody else tucked in mine in my own home.
After chatting with the show’s recruiter and my family, I came to the conclusion that for $20,000 when the show airs, it wasn’t worth it to exploit my family on national TV. My family life is sacred to me and I plan to keep it that way, thank you very much.
Jamie Hayden is the working mom behind www.ParenTeam, an online resource for working moms of stay-at-home dads (SAHDs).
Jamie - what a fascinating peek inside what it takes to be on Wife Swap. It never occurred to me that those families get paid (although WHO would do that for free?!!) to be on the show.
I'm also a working mom with a newly stay-at-home dad husband, so I'm looking forward to visiting your site. We both still have lots to learn about these new roles!
Mom Types 
Thanks for the info I'll add it.
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