Stay-At-Home-Moms?

Question

I'm curious about what other stay-at-home moms do all day--other then look after your kids?

What consider your duties?

If you could write a job description what would it say?

Why do you concider being a stay at home mother so difficult?

Tinker--actually I have two children whom I care for and I'm a stay at home mother.

Answer 1

Loking to fill a full time (24/7/365), long term position (minimum of 18 years with involuntary extensions completely possible). Person must be willing to:

Cook at least three meals a day. This does not incude assorted snacks, possible extra meals due to picky eaters, specialty diets or unexpected guests (this may include complete boyscout troops, soccer teams and the 6 "best friends" in the neighborhood)

Keep realitve order and neatness throughout the house. This can vary by number of people, activity levels and personal choices but will always include knowing where bedtime buddy bear is, that the lost sneaker is under the couch, your husband's car keys are under the newspaper on the breakfast table and the exact whereabouts of every piece of homework five minutes before the bus pulls up.

Maintain levels of clean clothes and towels. People with a willingness to consider an item with less than noticable dirt on it as still "wearable" have a distinct advantage in this department. Being able to iron while breastfeeding or correcting spelling homework is also a plus. Also, knowledge of exactly how many pairs of underware each person owns, as well as the average number of pairs worn a day is also required.

Must be able to remain calm in the face of many challanges and emergencies. These can be a single instance, or something that will have impact for the rest of your life. Everything from a scraped knee, to vomitting on the new couch, to high fevers, to serious illness or disabilities should be met with outward calm. You must be willing to devote huge amounts of time to researching the more serious issues, pursue the answers, fight the schools and share the information with other parents. While there will be days that you feel overwhelmed and sad, you must be able to keep going. Oh...and you must be able to give care and attention to the rest of your family as well.

Please note...sleep will be minimal,especially during the first few years and then again when dating and driving occur.

Financial costs will be exhorbitantly high with little of it being spent for new bras or dish towels.

Animal lovers a plus as small, furry things will eventually find a way into the house.

Throughout all this you will be expected to maintain an attractive appearance, the ability to converse on subjects other than TeleTubbies or Bratz dolls and have a sex drive.

Sick time is not allowed (unless hospitilzation is required) and, in many instances, will not be allowed to slow you down.

You will have a tough time going to the bathroom alone, bathing will become a timed event and you will develop a new appreciation for hands free sliding doors on mini-vans. You will be able to estimate withing a fraction of a pound how many bags you can pile in a baby stroller without causing the baby to rocket out as it tips over. A purse large enough to carry snacks, drinks, wipes, diapers, small toy, packets of ketchup and random bandaides is standard.

As for my day...all of the above, plus homeschooling, plus all the extra duties that go with being a militay wife and an active parent in the autism community. Is it a lot,...yup. Would I ever change it..not for anything!

Answer 2

I am a stay at home to a 4 month old, and have legal custody of a 12 year old. No one but another stay at home mom would understand this comment -- THERE IS NEVER A DULL DAY IN MY HOME! and NO 2 DAYS ARE ALIKE!

Staying at home with my son has been the greatest experience of my life. Yes, it requires a lot of work -- I work just as hard (if not harder than some) as anyone with a 9-5. People seem to think that at home moms just sit around and watch tv all day .... HA! Yes, the TV may be on, but if it weren't for Tivo and naptimes I wouldn't even be able to watch the news. My day is full, from the moment I wake my daughter up for school to the moment I lay my son down to bed at night.

I am not going to sit here and map out my enitre day, but I will say this. Being at home mom and a full-time student is teaching me a great sense of responsibility and time-management. I attend class online, which may sound easier, but takes a lot more maturity than going in to class everyday.

I wouldn't trade a day of my life for anyone else's. I love being at home with my son!

Answer 3

Great Question!! I have 2 sons. One is 2 and has Cerebral Palsy the other is 3 months. I wouldn't say it is hard but a challenge. Well, at least for me. My 2 year old basically only does the thing my 3 month old does so it's kinda like having twins. God my house is a mess because after dealing with them all day I barely have any energy to clean at night. But my husband helps out a lot . I wouldn't say my House is a pig sty but maybe a little messy. Duties? My number one duty is too make sure the kids are taken care of! I just do what I feel is right. I am sure every mom is different.

Answer 4

okay well I am a stay at home mom, and my job is taking care of my home. I cook, clean, do the Laundry, pay the Bills, do the shopping, and anything else that needs to be done. and when I get everything done, then I PLAY with my kids.
and it is hard because I have to do everything and sometimes the kid can be a little difficult, and I am responsible for teaching my son how to be a good person, and teach him right from wrong. and that isn't easy.

Answer 5

Looking after the kids is an all day job. I chose to be a stay at home Mom, but I worked right up to my due date. We had to cut back and make changes and it hasn't always been easy financially. Plus I do miss working. I personally just didn't want my daughter in day care, I wanted to be the one there for her all day. I don't find it difficult, I've found it to be very rewarding. The only difficult thing is not letting yourself get isolated. In addition to raising my daughter I'm here to make my husband lunch when he comes home, I can run the errands and pay the bills, I can volunteer, I take care of all of the family's appointments (getting them made, making sure we all make it on time). I know lots of people out there have no respect for stay-at-home Moms, they think we are ignorant, uneducated, lazy, none of which are true. I went to college, I got my degree, I worked and will work again when it's the right decision for my family. And I have respect for the women who work, I honestly don't know how they do it all. I feel overwhelmed sometimes by all of my commitments and my daughter's activities, I don't know how I would do it if I worked, but I know lots of working Mom's who do. All people who take proper care of their kids are to be applauded, whether they stay at home full time, or work outside of the home.

Answer 6

I am a stay at home mom. My 5 year old goes to school and my 3 year old stays home. Stay at home moms have 100 differnt job titles. I take my son to school wash clothes wash dishes make 4 beds. My job description Taxi , Dish washer , laundry lady, Cook, Janitor,baseball mom. The one who holds the house together the on who gets everyone to ball and school on time. The man might make the money but we keep things in working order. I have my days where i don't feel important. Cause I do the same thing everyday. I clean it they mess it

Answer 7

I am a new stay at home mom well he is 6 months old, but I do the dishes and the laundry besides taking care of him and of course I play on line and watch soaps. I do love being at home with him to see him grow and change everyday.

Answer 8

My husband and I are pretty old fashion. He works and I stay home with our two daughters, and our new baby on the way. Besides the kids I clean the house, do the laundry, that kind of stuff. I feel that if he has to work all day, he shouldn't have to clean the house. I do most of the cooking, but he has certain dishes that he cooks for me. He also helps out while dinner is cooking, such as cutting veggies, etc.
He does the yard work at home , and the trash.

Answer 9

it is getting harder for me to do all my "duties" and need help from my husband right now since I am due with my second child any day so at the moment we watch a lot of movies and I watch her and play and and read together. I do laundry, clean, cook, play with the computer. The day goes by so fast. Much faster than when I was working and counting down the minutes till I could go home. It is just as hard as any full time job, just different since now I am the boss and the pay is not as good. hahaha

Answer 10

Looking after your kids is a full time job in and of itself, baby!! Especially if they are little kids! But, in addition to caring for and amusing my kids when I was home with them full-time (they are both in shcool full-time now), I ran errands, cared for my dogs, cleaned the house and managed the money. I didn't stay at home that much, though. I always took my boys places which kept the "stay-at-home-mom" thing a lot less tedious.