Let’s face it. Stay at home moms take a lot of heat. I always cringe when somebody asks me what I do. When I tell them that I’m a stay at home mom, I get that look. If you’re a stay at home mom, you know what look I’m speaking of. It’s that “oh, you don’t work” look, or the “wow, that must be easy” look. It’s the look that makes me feel as if the non-stop job of raising children and caring for a family is not work at all. It’s the look that makes me feel as if what I do is easy and entails nothing more than sitting around and relaxing. When did motherhood become so frowned upon? Since when did raising your own children become “the lazy way out”? Feminist, Linda Hirshman said on “Good Morning America” several years back that a competent, educated woman’s place, is in the office. Does that mean stay at home moms are uneducated and incompetent? I’m pretty sure that you have to be quite competent to care for children. Hirshman believes that feminism has failed in its goals due to the large amount of mothers who stay home with their children. Women fought hard for their place in society; for their right to vote and hold jobs that were once meant for men only. But don’t we also have the right to choose what we want to do with our lives? If I decide to bring children into this world, shouldn’t I be able to decide whether or not I want to raise them myself? Why do people who hold jobs believe that caring for your children is not work at all? The only difference between their job and mine is that I don’t get paid, and I don’t get time off. Anyone who believes that being a full time mom is not a real job has not actually been one. According to salary.com, if a full time mother were to be paid for the work she does, she’d be making over a hundred thousand dollars a year. Unfortunately, we don’t get a paycheck for what we do. I do not get money for changing diapers, doing laundry, cleaning up messes and wiping away tears.
I do not criticize mothers who work. In fact, it’s hard not to have two incomes nowadays.. But when I decided to become a mother I took on the responsibility of doing what I felt was best for my children. Until they are both in school, I will continue to let the criticism roll in. I will shrug off the looks and let people think what they will. I know that my children will benefit the most by having their mother around during their pre-school years. Hopefully, one day, being a stay at home mom will be accepted once again.
If you’re interested in reading an article about Linda Hirshman’s arguments against stay at home moms, visit http://www.albertmohler.com/?cat=Commentary&cdate=2006-02-24
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Being a parent is def. the toughest job ever. But it is also the most rewarding. I totally agree with you, that being the one to bring the child into the world, I want to also be the one to raise my child as best I see fit. And if I have to compromise a couple material luxuries so be it. If somebody chooses to work out side the home, that is there choice, and that is fine. It is sometimes even necessary. But it is a shame that people like Linda Hirshman knock the integrity of mothers who are stay at home moms. Although originally the goal of feminist was equality, which i totally agree with, some (not all) have turned it into making women feel an obligation to work outside the home. Increasing the burden on them, and encouraging them to choose between finances and their child. Enough with my ranting and raving. Article must have struck a cord.
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