I remember watching the game show Family Feud, and when the
contestants were introducing themselves, one lady seemed a bit timid or maybe
embarrassed even to say that she was a stay at home mom. Steve Harvey the host
admonished her to not be so timid to say that she was a stay-at-home mom,
because her job is just as important and involved (even more involved), than
the parents who work outside of the home.
So then. are stay-at-home parents getting the respect that they
deserve. When I thought of this post, I was planning to write it around the
heading, stay-at-home moms, but then I remember that more and more men are
staying at home these days and taking care of the children and running the home
just as women are long known to do.
The common saying goes, a woman’s work is never done, and this
is because with children, you are always playing the game of catch up.
Depending on their age, you have to watch them closely so that they do not get
into things or hurt themselves, as they are naturally curious and do not know
their own danger. This does not mean that the other domestic chores get pushed
in the corner, you have to balance all these chores to get through the
day.
I heard it said recently that as soon as your kids wake up, you
spend the rest of the day trying to get them tired so that they can go to sleep
again. I found this quite funny, but had to sober up quickly because once they
go to sleep, this does not mean that you get to rest, you find yourself doing
the things that you could not do, when they are awake.
Many stay-at-home parents have to deal with the reality that
their family has to make do on one income, and many carry around the guilt of not
being able to contribute to the family’s finances. Well, do not beat yourself
up too much about this, just do the maths:- of course you are contributing to
your family’s finances, the nursery care for the babies, the aftercare fees for
the older ones, doctor fees for the babies who will get sick from time to time,
from all the germs that go around, in a
nursery environment and many and varied other miscellaneous costs. One cost
that is hard to compute, is the quality care that only you can give to your
children. How about that, this seems like a whole salary you are saving your
family to me.
A couple days ago, I was talking to a lady, a grandmother, who
seemed like she was a stay-at-home mom for all her children. She expressed how
hard it was for her to take care of all these children, and when her husband
gets home, as if she did not have a crazy, tiring day as it is, would say, “but
you have been at home all day.” She said , he just did not understand how being
a stay-at-home parent had you consumed with work all the time. He does
understand now though, she says, when he sees how much work his grandchildren
are. He was within earshot of the conversation, so he smiled in agreement.
I know our economy does not allow more parents to stay at home,
but those who can, feel blessed and be grateful you are part of this fortunate
small percentage, which is growing more and more obsolete, and just to
encourage you some more, it is never too late to get that dream career or build
on the one you already have.
image by: http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/being-a-stay-at-home-mom-in-pictures/
