Introduction
There are parents, especially mothers, who opt to stay at home and watch over the kids. However, this decision is always not an easy one. Most of the time, these types of mother weigh their options and familial situations before moving to this direction. Money matters and personal satisfaction are just among the concerns that mothers think about, that is, when giving up their high-paying and professionally fulfilling jobs to stay at home and care for their family. For some mothers, the decision to leave their jobs is a purely economic decision because finding someone to care for the kids while the parents are at work could be costly. For others, it is because they cannot find the proper childcare options that push them to go this direction. Still, there are those who simply find satisfaction in personally attending to the needs of their family. Of the two, becoming a stay-at-home mom is more preferable as it provides parents the chance to share in the child’s developmental accomplishments as they feel secure in knowing they are involved in the care of their child.
Statistics for Stay-at-home Moms
Mothers who are more affluent than others have the option to go back to work after the birth of their child. They may also opt to stay at home and care for the baby. However, in today’s world, mothers coming from various economic levels seem to decide on the latter as studies reveal a steady decline in the percentage of female employees (Zamora, n.d.). From a promising 40.8% to 57.5% increase in female employee population surveys between the years 1970 up to 2000, changes in the American family set up, economy, and culture gave women the same chances that men get when it comes to employment and professional opportunities (Cohn, Livingston, & Wang, 2014). However, in recent years, a noticeable 7%-10% drop in percentage of working women reveals more women prefer to stay at home or work from home (Zamora, n.d.), giving the impression that the gender revolution in the work front is over.
Some mothers work on a part-time basis, while some find other means to add to the family’s income by working from home. As a result, the decline in the number of women in the workforce and the increase in number of women staying and working from home becomes justifiable.
Pros and Cons of Becoming a Stay at Home Mom
Americans are divided on whether mothers should opt to stay at home or continue working even after having a baby. According to a Pew study, “opinions vary by religion, ethnicity and education: Hispanics, white evangelical Protestants and those who never attended college are more likely to say children are better off with a parent at home. College–educated women are among the most likely to say children are just as well off if their parents work outside the home” (Cohn & Caumont, 2014).
Advantages
Less Worry
Parents are always assured that their children receive the best quality and amount of care because the mother is the one who looks after the children. In addition, parents need not worry about horror stories that they hear from family and friends when it comes to their experiences at a daycare center or a nanny.
Extra Savings
Daycare is expensive, therefore, caring for one’s own children not only provides a wonderful opportunity for the mother to bond with the kids, but also ensures there is enough money to run the household. Sometimes, when it comes to computing the total expenses spent for daycare services, couples realize that they only worked in order to pay the daycare expenses.
Healthier Kids
While daycare centers help in exposing children to various experiences and facilitate childhood development, kids are also exposed to various germs and illnesses that they could get from other children. However, when kids stay at home with their mother, they are more likely to grow healthy and happy kids as well.
More Time for Other Housework
Household chores are an added burden when working moms have to attend to these chores even after work. Chores such as doing the laundry, cooking, washing the dishes, and housecleaning, among others, take up a lot of time. However, as a stay at home mom, women can manage their own time; thus, they will be able to set their schedules as to when specific chores should be done.
General Happy Feeling
Witnessing a child bloom into a creative, intelligent, obedient, respectful, and kind little child is already an accomplishment because how the child is in front of other people is already a reflection of how parents raised the child. Seeing how the child behaves when in the company of peers or how the child speaks kindly with other people may be because of how the stay at home mom reared the child.
Disadvantages
Economic Reasons
While it is true that parents can save a lot of money in daycare, there is also the fact that the additional income as provided by the mother can put a dent in the family’s budget when the mother stops working, especially when the mother contributed good amount of money into the financial aspect of running the household (Heidt).
Possibility of Boredom
If the mother thrives in a fast and stressful working environment where there are plenty of work challenges to be resolved, stay at home moms might find the new environment and situation boring and lacking in intellectual stimulation.
Lower Self-Esteem
There is also the possibility of experiencing depression symptoms or low self-confidence because of the lack of intellectual stimulation at home. In addition, stay at home moms might miss dressing up or looking nice for work, receiving compliments for how they look, being praised for a job well done, and more. Without the above, it could affect the mother’s overall sense of happiness and purpose when one opts to be a stay at home mom (Return of the Stay at Home Mom 2014).
Missing Out on Adult Interaction
When one becomes a stay at home mom, it is natural to feel a void for adult interaction and conversation since most of the time, the mother spends her time with children only. As a result, it could lead to a development fears in the mom such as fear of losing her skills, abilities, and intelligence, among others (Heidt).
No Breaks, Sick Leaves, or Vacation Leaves
Being a stay at home mom means no personal days off for the mother. It means having to “work fulltime” as a wife and mother, thus, one will just have to be creative in finding ways to rest or enjoy a couple of hours with friends.
Conclusion
Being a stay at home mom may have its pros and cons, but as a whole, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. There is no substitute for the kind of love that mothers give their children. The consistent show of affection and nurturing manner of caring for children helps in developing their character and cannot be exchanged with the kind of love and care that daycare or surrogate “moms” can give. When children grow up in unstable and unsupportive environments, children develop behavioral issues unlike when stay at home moms take care of the needs of the children. Parenting remains the greatest and most positive way of influencing a child’s emotional, intellectual, personal, and social development. Therefore, becoming a stay at home mom is the better option than working moms.
References
Cohn, D. & Caumont, A. (2014). 7 Key Findings about Stay-at-home Moms. [online]. Available at: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/04/08/7-key-findings-about-stay-at-home-moms/ [Accessed 15 November 2014]
Cohn, D., Livingston, G., & Wang, W. (2014). Chapter 4: Public Views on Staying at Home vs. Working. [online]. Available at: http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2014/04/08/chapter-4-public-views-on-staying-at-home-vs-working/ [Accessed 14 November 2014]
Heidt, A. (n.d.). Staying at Home – Pro’s and Con’s. [online]. Available at: http://www.everydayfamily.com/staying-at-home-pros-and-cons/ [Accessed 15 November 2014]
Return of the Stay at Home Mother. (2014). [online]. Available at: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21600998-after-falling-years-proportion-mums-who-stay-home-rising-return [Accessed 15 November 2014]
Zamora, D. (n.d.). Hard Choice for Moms: Work or Stay Home. [online] Available at: http://www.webmd.com/baby/features/hard-choice-for-moms-work-stay-home [Accessed 15 November 2014]
