Role of a stay at home mom?

Question

I want to know what people think a stay at home mom is supposed to do.

My thing is the "well your at home all day with nothing to do, couldn't you just..insert stupid request here" Since I'm not working-but yes I still have money coming in- my family thinks its my job to run around and pick up after them all day. ALL day. I can't tell you the number of socks that magically appear on my floor through out a day. I don't mind cleaning the house and everything to do with the kids, but I'm not a machine.

Answer 1

I tell you what...I am a stay at home mother and I have been reading all of this stuff and let me tell you a mothers work cant be written on any list. What about kissing the Boo-Boo's? Or comforting a sick child? Or listening to how EVERYONES day went? yes and there's the cooking and cleaning and picking up the house too. I know this sounds crazy but every single moment I get to spend with a child is a gift to me. Children have the greatest outlook on life because of their innocence and let's face it...in the world we all live in today...that's my favorite part of the day is listening to my kids tell me all about macaroni pictures they made and what happened on the monkey bars :) A mothers "work" is never done and I for one intend to enjoy every minute of it

Answer 2

Stay at home moms are working people whose job happens to be raising the next generation. It can be a very limiting role if you let it define your life. If my whole world was diaper changing, bottle feeding, cooking and cleaning I know I'd go insane. But if I ever become a stay at home mom (ie: it is financially feasible) I'd indulge in my hobbies in between responsibilities. I'd write a novel or two, take tai chi classes. I'd make sure there was plenty to look forward to every day. There is no reason for there to be bored stay at home moms out there. If you are one, I advise getting a babysitter for four hours a day and getting a part time job. Even if you end up breaking even financially it would still be worth it.

Answer 3

When I was a stay at home mom (Lord I miss those days!) and people said things like this to me, I would honor their request instead of doing something I normally did (like the laundry). When they asked why the laundry wasn't done, I would say......oh, well normally I would have had it done but I had to run this errand for you and that took the laundry time away. After a while they caught on that just because you are a stay at home mom that doesn't mean you sit on the couch all day and watch talk shows. You stand your ground! Good luck!

Answer 4

It's not what they are supposed to do, it's what they do do.
They get the kids ready for school-bathe, fix hair, give breakfast, fix lunches and they sometimes drive them to school and pick them up too. They clean the house- mop, vaccum and if they have a baby, they also have to take care of that little one. Grocery shopping, laundry, ironing, take children to park.
Have dinner ready, help kids do homework, clean up children for bed. Do dishes if children aren 't old enough to help and no help from father.
It is a lot of work and also one of the hardest jobs to do, especially if they don't have any help, e.g a nanny and they deserve some compensation for all the hard work the do.

GOD BLESS all stay at home moms; they deserve it.

Answer 5

I am currently a stay at home mom. I handle all household affairs. Housecleaning, laundry, cooking, house maintenance, landscaping (but not grass cutting) and so on. I take care of the children exclusively. I handle all the bills and expenses. I organize each family member's schedule. I arrange and pay for any weekly services (pool cleaning and maintenance, yard service, maid service etc.) I sit on the board of directors of a charity. Once a week I touch base there and each month I have to attend a board meeting. Hmmmm...right now I'm serving as driving instructor for my youngest and wedding consultant for my oldest.

When this youngest one graduates, my husband and I plan to take over the day to day running of our organic farm. Right now, we live too far away for that. That will fall mostly to me as my husband's job requires a lot of travel.

Answer 6

She is supposed to keep the house, take care of the children, make life more comfortable for her husband and her family. She also runs the errands, provides the food, does much of the volunteer work of the family (like at church or school), and takes care of whomever is ill. She might homeschool as well. Many stay at home moms have a cottage industry to help out with the finances.

Answer 7

Since you're not contributing money to the family, you have to contribute work. That means putting meals on the table, keeping the house clean, doing the laundry, and taking care of the children. If you can handle all of that, growing and harvesting a big garden is great too.

Answer 8

There's plenty to do--cleaning up the house for one thing, preparing meals, doing laundry, shopping...if children are at home Mom can take them to the park, or the zoo, or to the library to get some books, take them to the museum--fun, educational outings are something to do. Or go for a walk.

Answer 9

Take care of everything in the household, do all of the shopping and cooking and errands and childcare. Basically, do everything for everyone. However, that doesn't mean a SAHM is the maid. People should pick up after themselves, help out when possible, and be considerate.

Answer 10

I am a stay-at-home mom. As far as our situation goes, this is what I do:

pay bills
keep house in order
grocery shopping
laundry
get kids ready for school
help kids w/homework
get kids bathed and ready for bed
put kids to bed
cook meals
take care of anyone who's sick
manage in-home projects, like renovations