My mom was always very dedicated to her work. She was always on time, went the extra mile and certainly stayed on the job beyond comfortable hours. The time and effort she put in the career that she chose reflects her character.
Here’s the thing, my mom has been at this same job for many years and has no chance of promotion, conventional benefits or monetary compensation. I bet you are wondering what my mommy did?
She was a stay-at-home mom.
This isn’t a very well-respected career choice since the stay-at-home mother is not involved in the traditional work force, but it is a very valid job. Many women even opt to forego a conventional career in order to raise their children themselves.
A survey conducted by Aaron Gouveia of Salary.com yielded results saying that the average stay-at-home mom works 95 hours per week. If paid $7.25 per hour for her time, a mother could earn approximately $33,000 annually before taxes of course. According to MSNBC, this is about the same amount it would cost for childcare per year.
The average career will take a person out of his or her home and into a workplace environment for about 40 hours a week, affording nights and weekends for regrouping and the ability to come back refreshed for the next day of work. This is simply not the case for the stay-at-home mom. She wakes up to her children and begins working as soon as her feet touch the floor and doesn’t really stop until they are asleep. Did I mention that there are no days off?
My mom, like many others, has recently been looking into a new career path. Her efforts have been pretty much fruitless due to her lack of formal experience. I find this absurd because she has over 20 years of organizational, administrative, critical thinking experience, not to mention the fact that she did all of these things and still kept the house in pristine condition and had amazing dinners on the table when my dad got home from work. Thanks, Mom!
I’m sure that many stay-at-home mothers are not really counting the cost of their choice while they are taking care of their children. A great benefit to their lifestyle is that they have the opportunity to raise their own children without worrying about what another person may be indoctrinating in them. Also, the time parents spend with children has the potential to create an amazing bond and an open line of communication between parent and child.
While they are very hard workers and loaded with tenacity and talent, stay-at-home mothers are currently not viewed as career women because of the simple fact that they are at home. That doesn’t negate the fact that they work harder than a lot of people. Maybe one day, “Mommy” will be a valid and well respected career choice.