Being a Stay at Home Mom is a Job

I am a stay at home mom. I also work part time from home and I am a college student. My day starts early and ends late. I don't get to clock out, ever. If one of the kids wakes up in the middle of the night, I am the one that gets up with them. No time clock around here!!

A stay at home moms job is often down played as something easy and fun. While it can be fun, it isn't always easy. I have four children to take care of each day. I am their main caregiver. I get them dressed, feed them, change diapers, keep them safe, clean the house, run all errands, help them with school work, keep them entertained, do the grocery shopping, cook all meals, do laundry, and the list goes on and on. So why is it that many husbands feel that a stay at home mom's job is luxurious and kick back??

My husband has made remarks before that I must sit around all day eating Bon Bons and watching my soaps all day long. That couldn't be further from the truth. I do not eat Bon Bons nor do I get to watch my soaps during the day at all. I very rarely get to sit let alone watch television. I have a ten year old, four year old, two year old and 19 month old. With three toddlers in the house, I run all day long.

Any stay at home mom will tell you that their job is not the easiest. By the end of the day, you have heard all the screaming that you care to, you have changed at least four or five diapers per child, you have hear the words "I am hungry" or "I am thirsty" at least twenty times. Every time you sit on the toilet, someone gets hurt or needs something. Every time you get in the shower, you have many eyes watching your every move while they wreck the house. Every phone conversation I try to have has to be cut short because kids can't stand when their parents are on the phone and not giving them all the attention.

Since becoming a stay at home mom, I look at working moms and wonder how they do it. I don't think I could work all day and then come home and do all the stuff that I do all day as well. That is rough. I work from home for my local newspaper as a writer so I have the advantage that I don't need to hire a babysitter for me to work and I don't have to leave the house too often to work either. If I have to cover a story, my kids can come with me if need be. It is very convenient and works well for my situation, but in no case would I ever use the word...easy.

I know many stay at home moms and many working moms. I do not think that one way is better than the other. It depends on the person and the situation. Some days I really wish that I worked away from the home so that I could have a little sanity. Being around kids all day long, every day, is challenging at time. Finding other moms in the same situation is a great thing so that you know you aren't alone. Stay at home moms really need some adult interaction so playgroups work well. I try to get to a playgroup at least once a week so that the kids can interact with other kids and so that I can have an adult conversation every now and then. It is a challenging thing.

Being a mom, regardless of stay at home or working is a tough job in itself. Raising a child takes a lot of knowledge and patience. It amazes me how many people dimiss this as being a job. It is the hardest job out there as far as I am concerned.