Why do so many christian women not work after having children?

Question

I know it is not all christian women, but i am trying to decide whether to go back to work after having maternity leave and so many women at my church stay at home until their kids go to school. There is nothing wrong with this of course. But i am just wondering why?

Answer 1

A mother also has to care for the emotional welfare of her children. She plays a vital role in helping a child learn about love and affection—lessons that may be just as important as satisfying his physical needs. In order to develop into a well-balanced adult, a child needs a warm, secure environment while growing up. Once again, a mother's role is crucial.

Today more women than ever have to work outside the home to help support their family or are the sole support of their family. The book Women and the World Economic Crisis notes a report that stated: "Domestic work is not the only work women do. There are relatively few women anywhere in the world who can claim to be 'just a housewife.'"

Whether in the role of breadwinner, mother, teacher, or wellspring of compassion, a woman is worthy of respect and recognition, as is her work. The wise man Lemuel, who spoke so highly of a capable wife, valued both a woman's work and her counsel. In fact, the Bible explains that his message was largely derived from instruction his mother had given him. (Proverbs 31:1) Lemuel was convinced that a conscientious wife and mother should not be taken for granted. "Give her the reward she has earned," he wrote. "Her works bring her praise."—Proverbs 31:31, NIV.

However, when Lemuel recorded those views, they were not just a reflection of human thinking. They are recorded in the Bible, which is God's Word. "All Scripture is inspired of God." (2 Timothy 3:16) Those sentiments reflect Almighty God's view of women, since God inspired those passages in the Bible for our instruction.

Personally, I have to work because my mate abandoned his family. I would love to have more time raising my daughter if I could. There still are ways to make quality time and raise good children when you work.

Ask yourself these questions" 1) Does the family truly need my second income? 2) Is my desire to go back to work coming from a love of money and a desire for unneeded material things? 3) How will I feel if my children grow up and leave the lord because I have not had time to teach them God's word? 4) How will I feel about missing all the precious moments of their childhood?

If you really need to go back to work then God will bless and help you if you ask him. No one should pressure you one way or another. It is a highly personal decision.

Answer 2

Well, if you think you can leave your children in the care of someone else comfortably, then do it!

I suggest doing a part-time thing first. Go back, but only for 2-3 days a week. Take your kids to a daycare center of some sort.

Most women feel that they need to be there constantly and begin thier childrens pre-school education themselves. Plus, having kids takes up alot of time, what with cleaning, cooking, and all the other things that get multiplied when you have kids. Not to be sexist or anything, of course.

Its really your choice, when it boils down to it. When you think your kids will be able to be apart from you for a day, that they are ready to go to preschool and learn, do it!

Answer 3

As a part of society many Christians sacrifice their time for their children. It is a matter of choice in the church. This is a trend noticed by several studies done on life in the US.
We believe that the first years of a child's life are very precious and mothers would rather spend time with their babies than spend time chasing the almighty dollar. Around 1940 Peter Marshall wrote "many mothers are sacrificing one of God's greatest gifts-time with their children; to earn money for what they consider necessities. More toys, more clothes, more stuff in general" (quote not verbatim). If life with your kids was considered more important 70 years ago, then what are we so in need of now? We have more time savers than one could ever imagine and yet we actually have less time.
If I were your father I would recommend you stay home and breast feed your baby. I write this as open advice to be accepted or rejected. As a man I have often envied mothers the opportunity to not go to the rat race every day and get to spend time with the wee ones.
God be with you whatever your decision. Neither is the wrong one. And of course there are so many single mothers out there struggling to make ends meet. The choice is made for them.

Answer 4

I have stayed at home with my children for the past three years. This is a personal decision that my husband and I made together. I did recently go back to work and after two months I realized that my children needed me at home more and my husband was no happier when I was working than when I wasn't. So now I am at home again and I couldn't be happier.

Answer 5

I had my fist baby 2 plus years ago and I have been with him since I brought him home. My returning to my job was never an option. #1.. why would I want to go to work, be seperated from my son, only to make enough money to pay someone else to look after him? #2.. noone will care for, teach, and raise my son with biblical teachings like his mommy can and does. #3 more mothers could stay home and make an eternal impact on their child's future life if they sacrificed the things they wanted for the thing that is best...their flesh and blood. Staying at home is rewarding, and at times extremely stressful!! But at the end of the day when your baby kisses you and says, "love mummy" you regain the strength to carry on.

Answer 6

Day care is expensive. When doing the numbers it cost us *more* to keep kids in daycare, vs me staying home. (lunches, work clothes, cost of gas) Plus, if the kids were sick, who would take the time off? Who's there when they get off the bus and you need to work 2-3 hours more plus travel time. Who will watch them in the summer. Now, understand it took us awhile to get to the point of staying home full time. It was one of our long term financial goals. Husband travels, so he is often gone. I know many families with a spouse that stays home, but does not mean they are all Christian. It truly is a personal decision, and this was the best for us.

Answer 7

Well I stayed home until he was around 4 months old, Then I was working full time, I really didn't see my son and he spent all of his time with his Grandmother, I then stayed home again...and now he's 10 months and I am going back part time.

It's really not about religion, It's about seeing your child do things for the first time and bonding with you.

If their situation allows them to stay home until their children are in school, Thats great. However, if we can't afford it their is nothing wrong with working. Its a personal choice.

Answer 8

I stay home with my kids and I'm a Christian. Me staying home has nothing to do with my Christianity though. I stay home because I am fortunate enough to do so and I feel it is the very best thing for my kids. I get to raise them, see all their "firsts", ready them for school, spend quality time with them before they no longer wish to do so, build strong relationships with them and help them to do that with each other. No one else is raising them, it's my job. I don't have to pay for day care, or preschool. They all stay with me until Kindergarten. I love it and feel blessed that I get to do it. It is best for the kids!

Answer 9

I'm a SAHM and am homeschooling our child also.

We believe I'm the best care-giver for our child. No baby sitter would be more interested in his growth and teaching good values as much as I would. I want our child to bond with me more than anyone else. That means he needs to spend more time with me than anyone else.

I'm homeschooling because we want our child raised with our beliefs and not the governments beliefs. Since I'm homeshooling, I've also studied out the best way to teach children & have found that schooling starts way too early before the childrens eyes have fully developed, hands are co-ordinated & bodies are ready to sit still. Children learn best when at a young age they are still allowed to play & discover in nature and the parent can teach things that they find their child interested in learning. Studies show that children introduced to science at the pre-school & kindergarten ages and not taught reading develop better reading skills than the children who were taught reading at that age and soon out-perform the earlt readers. Doesn't make sense until you read about the study. I found it in a little book called "Learning to Read From Nature's Pages in Field, Desert, Stream and Your Own Back Yard" by Ellen Dana. I got in from the Moore Institute:

http://www.moorefoundation.com/catalog/default.php

The Smithsonian, definitely a non-religious institution, has a scientific study that children learn better w/o public school. You should google it & read it. Quite eye opening. I think there's something about it here:

http://www.homeeducator.com/FamilyTimes/articles/12-1article8.htm

I also want to choose my child's friends. They learn from everyone around them. Good & bad, and at a young age they cannot make that distinction, they just absorb everything.

Studies also show that children are more socially grounded when raised by their parents & not by gare-givers and public school.

It's a big decision for you and the child. Pray about it.

(There's also a homeschool section in Y!A if you want to ask your question there to get more answers.)

Answer 10

Like most religion, Christianity robs a woman of her rights as a human being by installing, so called, “values”. These “values” dictate that she must have children, her place is in the home, and she must be sub-servant to her husband.

The degree of these “values” varies from sect to sect, region to region, family to family. But the overall message is the same.

BTW: I can usually spot the children of a “stay at home” parent, just by looking at how badly the behave themselves.