Laid-Off Execs Try Fatherhood

Jobless Mr. Moms are becoming more prevalent at school pickup time and PTA meetings in Pelham Manor, a posh New York suburb where hedge-fund managers and execs raise families. Their blunt decisiveness is a remnant of once-successful careers, and while PTA moms welcome their help, they worry for them, too. “That goes to their identity,” one tells the New York Times of losing breadwinner status.

“Men’s self-esteem is much more related to professional success,” says a psychologist who recently visited the town of 5,500. For former insurance exec Andrew Emery, however, joblessness has been a chance to spend time he never got with his children. Now Emery plans to find a flexible job, like teaching, that allows him more family time.