On to the mother’s dilemma: to stay at home and raise your family or go to work and sacrifice time with the kids. Either route chosen is an admirable one facing many challenges and undoubtedly just being a mother is absolutely the largest in my opinion. I have however encountered people that lack an understanding of all the obligations of stay at home mothers. None of this is from personal experience, but an exceptional mother who spent some time at home and in the labor force raised me.
"They wash dirty socks, change endless diapers, and feed hungry mouths. Their shift doesn't end at five: duty calls 24/7, 365 days a year, 7 days a week. They don't get to go home at the end of the day and kick back on the couch, but you won't find them complaining. Who are these diaper wrangling divas, the mysterious masterminds of household chaos? Stay at home mothers (Harder)."
I found this great quote in a blog and couldn’t have thought of a better way to state it. I have literally heard my friends say they were looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing when they were parents. I guess this is one of the stereotypes I have never seen the reason behind.
Dealing with my own needs and myself sometimes seems overwhelming, but to add the needs of one or more beings is impossible to grasp. There were 5.6 million stay-at-home moms in 2006 as recorded by the government census. 55%
of mothers in 2004, participated in the labor force, which is down from a record high of 59 percent in 1998. Even more interesting than these statistics, I found some on the child care centers in the U.S. In 2004, there were 729,040 child care centers that parents used to maintain the supervision of their children. This could only be interesting to me, but half of this I had never realized. Parents must have much more energy than they are constantly saying they lack.
“Staying at home is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay-at-home moms need to string together months and years of such days. Their strength lies in their ability to store vast reserves of the energy, patience, resilience, and affection required to raise a child. Marathoners need a healthy heart, and so do stay-at-home moms (Harder).”
I have the utmost respect for every parent who has chosen the hands-on path. It takes a dedication and supreme devotion to forego career advancements for personally more gratifying experiences. Throw this stereotype to the wind; there is nothing lax about stay-at-home-parenting.
Harder, Christopher. "Among the Stay-At-Home Moms, A Dad in Disguise.” 30 October, 2008. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1030/p19s03-hfes.html
“The Surprising Pricetag of Motherhood.” 13 May, 2008. Make Me a Hot Mama. http://www.makemeahotmama.com/2008/05/suprising-price-tag-of-motherhood.html
“Mother’s Day: May 13, 2007.” 13 May 2007. US Federal Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/Press Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/009747.html -
Thanks for the post! I'm a stay at home mom of six and you are absolutely right about the 24/7 shift. Can you imagine the never ending pile of laundry? It never ends! I gave up my career as an accountant in 1998 when I had my first child. As much as I miss it, I can't imagine missing out on some of my children's progression and growth. I understand everyone's circumstances and situations are different, but I'm grateful for the opportunity to be with my children. It definitely is one of those jobs, where it really does matter what you put into it.
ReplyDeleteI think that this post says a lot. My sister is a stay-at-home mom (we were raised by a working, single mom), and she's always worried that she isn't being considered a useful woman in the world. It makes me sad. But I do also hear her complain about not having enough interactions with adults and the outside world. So while staying at home is a wonderful option, for some women I think that they need to find balance between themselves as "mother" and as a "woman."
ReplyDeleteJust a small comment: you have good sources here, now make sure to name the quotes you get from blogs right in the text where you use them."