Why Be a Stay at Home Mom with School-age Kids?
1. Domestic duties. This is referring to the house and household in general, not the children. When a mother stays home, she knows she can clean the house, make dinner, do laundry, etc. while her children are in school. This gives her time to complete these tasks without kids following her around and distracting her. For some mothers, this is the first time they've been able to clean the house uninterrupted since their last child--or their children!--was born.
2. Family evenings. Many moms do all their chores, have appointments, and run errands during the day so they can spend the evening with their children. Alternatively, they're so busy running the kids from one after-school activity to the next that if they didn't take care of most other things during the school day, they wouldn't get done!
3. Mom time. Some, although very few, women stay home when their children are in school, because they have more time for themselves. They may jog, take classes, read, write, run a business, or any number of things they didn't have time for when the kids were home. If they can afford it, these women shouldn't feel bad for finally taking this time for themselves.
4. Volunteer activities. Some moms volunteer at their children's school. Parents are always needed to chaperone field trips, bring snacks, be teacher's aids, help with lunch duty, etc. Having mom volunteer at school may be embarrassing for the kids, but it's often fulfilling for their mother.
5. Being there for emergencies. You never know when a child will be sick, you'll have to take a change of clothes or a forgotten lunch to school, or there will be a snow day. Instead of having a baby sitter do this, women who stay at home when their children are in school can do these things themselves. Some mothers believe this is just their continuing commitment to motherhood and think nothing of staying home when they have school-age children.
6. Being there after school. When their life and personal circumstances allow it, many moms want to be home when their children get there after school. This gives them a warm house and arms to come home to, helps them stay out of trouble, and maybe even gets them a nice snack, too!
If being a stay at home mom throughout the children's school career works for the family, then there's nothing wrong with it. Other people may think it's unnecessary, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Usually, mothers who have school-age kids and stay home have their children's best interests at heart. Though this means different things to different parents, the majority of parents have at least this one thing in common.
Published by Lucy Myers
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26 Comments
Post a CommentThis article is passively anti-working mom. Please don't get me wrong. I've beena sahm, a wm, and now I only work pt. I've worn all hats. Why do you have to infer things, like working moms can't volunteer (they can and do!) or can't focus as well on their kids after work/school? Do you really think the sahm's egos are so fragile that they deserve this kind of mommy war language? We all deserve better than this kind of nonsense.
Stay at home Moms DO have the hardest job in the world. We are all given the same amount of hours each day - if you work outside the home something has to bend in order for it all to fit in. I have stayed home for 13 1/2 years raising my 4 children and went back to work when my youngest was in kindergarten. Well - 3 years later I'm seriously looking at quitting all together so that my children can have their mother back. Working outside the home IS rewarding - MUCH more so than rearing toddlers at home hour after hour with no adult interaction. I felt like a bird let out of a cage when I went back to work. People respect you when you work, you get a pay cheque, you get to dress up and feel good! BUT - nobody is given more than 24 hours in a day - no, not even those working moms who "do it all". Really??? We don't - we just do everything rushed and frazzled because on the outside we are "together". "Together" only feels good until you reali
I am fortunate that my husband ears enough money that we can live comfortably on just his salary. Since having children 12 yrs ago I have had various part time administrative jobs,(once my youngest was in school) ALWAYS around my children's school schedules. I worked outside the home because I liked it and it didn't interfere with my home life. Now my job has been phased out and I am at home once again at home full time. I very much enjoy it. I have lots of time to volunteer at the school, cook, keep the house clean. I was much more rushed and stressed working outside the home, even though it was only very part time. I feel very blessed to have the option to work or not, and I won't apologize for that. We planned for me to be a SAHM from the beginning, and we don't carry consumer debt or live outside our means. Our children are active in sports and activities. I will not apologize or feel bad that our lifestyle does not require two incomes, that is ridiculous. I may look for some contr
Just a response to the poster's comment about the generations of SAHMs before us: back when my GM stayed home, washing dishes meant getting your hands wet. Washing clothes meant wringer washers and sprinkling/ironing clothes. They regularly waxed floors, hung clothes on the line and made meals from scratch. The school-aged kids came home at lunchtime. A woman could easily justify the work she did. The second comment to that post is that, just as not all SAHMs are lazy, not all working moms are stupid. We take very good care of our kids; they don't raise themselves. Third, no need for foul language. Do you kiss your kids with that mouth?
The argument is not about Staying at Home when your children are ages 0-5.Not at all. It's about some mothers who dont work when their kids are at school for 6 hours a day and calling what the Working mothers manage to fit into their busy days.. WORK..The Title of having "the hardest job in the world" belongs to those mums..because they DO do it all...work AND after school activities AND housework..Jealous? you bet. Who wouldn't want all that freedom SAH's have.
I think it's awful that SAH moms get put down just for taking care of their family and the house. Years ago a woman was expected to stay home and take care of her family instead of running off to work. People wonder why the last few generations of kids are so messed up, it is probably because these kids are at home with no guidance because everyone is at work. How the hell is going to a job any more "Truly" rewarding than staying at home to take care of your family?
I see it all too often, kids at home by themselves with nobody to raise them because their parents are off at work. A 6 year old little girl in my neighborhood disappeared because her mother was at her "Truly" rewarding job and could not afford a babysitter. I understand that sometimes it is just impossible for a mother to stay home with the children because of financial issues, but all you SAHM haters are just jealous because you wish you could stay at home with your children. People in this day and age need to get a clue
I'm not a mom so I can't really relate to be SAHM. My girlfriend is and didn't return to work after her kids are in school. I believe partly she's used to the life style of being at home and do after school activities. Now she's forced to go back to work because her and her husband got a divorced. I'm sure it's a big change after staying at home for 10 years. Life is uncertain so be prepared.
Maybe the super stressed busy women who are home all day while their children are out at school for 6 hours should just Knock the word MOM off the end of the title and call themselves..Stay at Homes.AND because WE ARE ALL MOMS,The wage earning women can do the same.Stay at Home?....Working? (sounds about right.
Wow, can't believe the negative comment about a SAH Mom. We are all Moms here people. I have worked with 3 kids and have stayed home with 3 kids. Both are tough! Both have their advantages. I don't know what anyone here was doing while they were home but I was more exhausted being home than when I worked at a paying job. We do not consider ourselves spoiled but blessed. I have been on both side of the tracks here. As far as being social. I was actually more exposed to social situations being home than at work. I worked for a very large electronics company and socialized. But there are many different types of Moms out there too, many different types of conflicts just like in your typical workplace. I would never be rude about a mother's decision to work a paying job or a Mom who decides to stay home.
when someone voices a strong opinion. It’s especially uncomfortable to watch someone disagree with them. I know I am painting a rather broad stroke, and obviously many SAH moms find ways to interact socially. And certainly, it may be a “which came first†situation, where my sister and mother may have chosen to be SAH moms in part because they aren’t good in social interactions. What I am saying is that working outside the home forcibly exposes you to people different than yourself. It teaches you to “play well with othersâ€, and can build your self-confidence. Some of my most rewarding friendships have been with people who may have initially made me uncomfortable. I think if I got to choose what I did each day, or with whom I was going to interact, I would be much more sheltered and shy.