The question of whether or not to stay home to raise children is one of the most debated issues of motherhood. Endless studies and tests have been perfomed, thousands of surveys have been distributed, and if one were looking for a personal opinion, they would have to look no further than the nearest mother to give them a biased look at raising children. But while the traditional views of mothers as housewives remain alive and well in some areas, the modern working mother has made a successful place for herself in our society, and continues to prove herself to be both a powerful mother and business professional. Although stay-at-home mothers are rewarded with the benefit of helping their child grow, the economic advantages of an extra income, the trivial accomplishments of stay-at-home moms, and the satisfactory and balanced lives of working mothers prove the point that being a working mother is a more beneficial option than staying at home. It may save families a great deal of money to keep the mother at home, but having a working mother adds stability and financial support to keep her family comfortable. The stay-at-home mother is an economic asset to her family by providing services that would otherwise cost money, a large factor to take into consideration when one is faced with the grim outlook of the economy and rising prices that continue to go up. Mothers who stay at home to raise their children save money by not hiring a nanny or using a daycare facility; on average, a family will spend $250 - $500 per week on a nanny, but when the mother provides that service, they will save $20,800 each year (Sefton). Keeping the mother at home helps them accomplish other tasks pertaining to the household. Mothers who c... ... middle of paper ... ...finds." ScienceDaily, 12 Dec. 2011. Web. 8 May 2012. Hekker, Terry Martin. "Should You Stop Working When You Have Kids?" Cosmopolitan 240.6 (2006): 224. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 7 May 2012. Karaim, Reed. "Women Should Not Be Encouraged to Be Stay-at-Home Mothers." Male/Female Roles. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005. Print. Mitchell, Kathleen. "Mission: Almost Impossible Working Mothers Struggle To Balance Career And Home Life." Businesswest 27.22 (2012): 49. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 7 May 2012. Niemann, Sibyl. "Women Should Be Encouraged to Be Stay-At-Home Mothers." Male/Female Roles. Farmington Hills: Thomson Gale, 2005. Print. Sefton, Barbara Wylan. "The Market Value Of The Stay-At-Home Mother." Mothering 86 (1998): 26. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 7 May 2012. Working vs. Stay-At-Home Moms. 2011. Infographic. Circle of Moms. Web. 7 May 2012.
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At what point does work life start interfering with family life to an extent that it becomes unacceptable? Is it when you don’t get to spend as much time with your family as you would like, or is it the point where you barely get to see your family due to long hours at work? Is it even possible to balance work with family life? Anne-Marie Slaughter, the author of “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”, believes this balance is impossible to achieve in this day and age. In contrast, Richard Dorment, the author of “Why Men Still Can’t Have It All”, believes that there will never be a day when someone will have it all, certain sacrifices will always have to be made. Both of these articles are similar in the respect that they both examine balancing a demanding career with raising children. The two authors’ views on the subject differ greatly, especially regarding how gender roles have a significant impact on our society.
Stone (2007) conducted “extensive, in depth interviews with 54 women in a variety of professions-law, medicine, business, publishing, management consulting, nonprofit administration, and the like- living in major metropolitan areas across the country, half of them in their 30’s, half in their 40’s” (p. 15). Keep in mind these women Stone (2007) focuses on are “highly educated, affluent, mostly white, married women with children who had previously worked as professionals or managers whose husbands could support their being at home” (p. 14). Her findings revealed women are strongly influenced by two factors: workplace push and motherhood pull. “Many workplaces claimed to be “family friendly” and offered a variety of supports. But for women who could take advantage of them, flexible work schedules (which usually meant working part time) carried significant penalties” (Stone, 2007, p. 16). This quote represents the workplace push, where women are feeling encouraged to continue their rigorous careers with little to no family flexibility being offered from workplaces. The motherhood pull is a term used to describe the way mothers feel when they face the pressure of staying home to raise their children while still expected to maintain a steady job. “Motherhood influenced women 's decision to quit as they came to see the rhythms and
“The logic of intensive mothering, particularly as it applies to middle- and upper-middle-class mothers, therefore seems to be the greatest barrier to solving the problems detailed in this book….Nearly all mothers, for instance, feel they ought to be at home with their children, ought to want to be at home with their children, and ought to be their children’s primary parent.” Pg. 201 This quote from Untangling the Mother-Nanny Knot emphasizes on the fact that these working mothers need to let go a of that temperament that they must keep the nanny, their spouse and anyone else away from their child at any cost. Because they are not able to be there for their kids they can rest their mind knowing that the person with their child when they are not present is someone that will love them and care for them no matter what, and all the working mother must do is let go just a
People love to indulge in the humor of what they think a stay at home mom is. Either it is a never ending job where mothers are running around, like a chicken without a head, or it is a vacation life, where someone chills out in their sweatpants all day. Instagram is filled with both humorous and heart warming quotes on what being a mom is like, and anyone who has a child can relate to them. There is one thing, nonetheless, that separates mothers all over the world. Are they a stay at home mom or a working one? Stay at home moms will argue that their lives are tougher, because they’ don 't get to take a break while working moms will argue that their lives are tougher ,because they need to juggle two jobs, caring for their children and working outside the home. I have been a stay at home mom for seven years and I can easily tell you that I am not sitting at home in my sweatpants all day with a bows of Cheetos, watching grey’s anatomy on lifetime. Having said that, would my life be easier if I was out of the house all day, working another job? A few years ago I was faced with this question, in a way that I will never forget.
Women have persistently been challenged with issues regarding what it means to be a ‘good mother’. Although times continue to change, issues confronting 21st century mothers, remain similar to the ones addressed in past generations. An abundance of mothers in the 21st century are still faced with the complex issue regarding the ‘stay-at-home mom’ stereotype, in spite of the fact that the feminist movement has provided women with more rights in the present-day, then ever before. However, while strides have been made, these changes have had an affect on society’s notion of motherhood. The portrayal of motherhood is determined by countless expectations in which society has established. Such expectancies have expanded, which now effect how motherhood is depicted in different cultures. As a whole the feminist movement has strongly influenced Western Society, which has resulted in women’s suffrage, the right to make individual decisions, and has also led to wide-ranging employment for women at more equivalent wages. However, the emergence of female employment has created a war between ‘stay-at-home’ and ‘working’ mothers, which is often referred to as ‘Mommy Wars’. In addition, female employment provides men with the opportunity to stay at home and become the primary caregiver, which has ultimately had a large impact on societies notion of motherhood, treating them differently than primary caregivers of the opposite gender. This paper will examine how the feminist movement has altered societies notion of motherhood in the 21st century in comparison to past generations as a result of working mothers and stay at home fathers.
In a society with the muajority of mothers joining or returning to the workforce, there is a growing body of research documenting the demands placed on these women and what can be done to help their transition into this new role. According to the United States’ Department of Labor, in the year 2012, 70.5% of mothers with children under the age of 18 were a part of the workforce; of these women 73.7% were employed full-time, working over 35 hours a week, and 26.3% were employed part-time, working less than 35 hours a week (United States Department of Labor, 2012). Given this information, it is becoming more important to further research how this new role as an employee affects the role of parenting and what can be done to help this transition. The intent of this paper is to compare the experiences of a working mother to the current research on the topic of working mothers. Moreover, this paper addresses the demands placed on working mothers as well as the factors that ameliorate their transition into this new role.
However, there are moms out there who have other jobs and careers and supposedly do it all. Who hasn’t heard the argument before, stay at home moms versus working moms? Which “job” is easier? Which one is better for the upbringing of one’s children? Which one makes someone a better mom?
This is going to be an obvious answer to the question, ‘Who is significant to me?’ Yet, my answer would be my mother. I would hope that most people would answer the same because it would be a shame if others would overlook their overpowering love and sacrifice. Being a mother has a job that most are not capable of fulfilling; my mother is one of those people who can fulfill the tiring job. My mother uses phrases that I always end up laughing at, but honestly, what good parent doesn’t?
Barbara Schneider, a successful sociology author with eighteen years of experience in this educational field, acknowledges that most parents, especially those in the middle class, are anxious to improve their child’s academic and psychological advancement by being consistently involved in their lives (Schneider 107). For parents that must pick their children up from school, an afterschool program or relieve their babysitter by a designated time frame, these unwavering policies invite at-home conflicts and added stresses into the work environment. Those with infants or toddlers become sleep deprived and unproductive at work because of their fixed schedule that forces them to start all their parental needs once they’re shift has been completed. Children get hurt or sick when they’re developing. Rigid policies push parent workers into calling out to tend to their child’s emergency. Condensing 40-hour work weeks into four days or allowing parents to work part time will provide parents a balance for tending to the needs of their children and the demands of our business without jeopardizing our company’s attendance and productivity metrics. Working from home will allow parents to be more accessible to their children in case of emergencies or events that require them to be present. Most children live with either one or two employed
”I chose to be a stay home mom because since I decided to be a mother I wanted to be part of each step in my kids life. Supporting them emotionally and academically. Having the chance to see them grow in this long journey is beautiful and heart-warming. I enjoy all phases in our life; I will have time to think about my career at the right moment but not now.
One of the issues that parents are dealing with is money. They believe that they can’t have a stay at home parent, because they wouldn’t be able to live off of one parent’s salary. However what many people don’t know that the value of a stay a home parent is a lot more than one would imagine. According to Barbara Sefton, “The stay-at-home mother is on duty an average of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. She provides a service with a market value of approximately $36,000 annually.” This is more than some individual salaries. Most do not realize how much work a stay a stay at home mom does, from c...
It is often said that, "Man's work ends at sun set. Women's work is never done." With sixty-three million women working and 62% of those women maintaining families, most women would this statement very true (AFL-CIO). While women are expanding their lives to include a career, they must also maintain their traditional roles at home. This combination of housework and career-work is the reason why working mothers today have more stress than working fathers.
Men and women are working harder than ever to survive in today's tough economy. It's a big challenge for low and middle class families to survive. To meet growing demands, it's getting difficult for families to depend on one income. To contribute to family income, mothers are coming forward and joining the workforce. Working mothers are the one who takes care of the family and work outside the home. They may be a single mothers or married mothers. Working mothers usually work to support their family financially. Some of the mothers work, just because they are more career-oriented. Working mothers may work part time or full time. Women are now the primary or only income source for 40% of US households with kids, according to a new Pew survey (Wang, Parker and Taylor, ch. 1). They play a major role in raising their family and doing household chores. There are many reasons that why mothers should work.
Regardless of where they are in their careers, working mothers have a tough time achieving balance between work and family. Generally, women take on or are given more responsibility for their homes than are men, leading to frustration and exhaustion. In this paper we will address some of the issues involved in balancing career and family. This paper will provide some solutions for the most common problems arising from todays busy schedules, and provide some insight on how to make the most of your time.