Percentage of mums that work?

Question

My son is 14 months old and i returned to work about a month and a half ago. Do you think it is right to work or is a mums place still at home? i do enjoy work but i miss out on so much stuff that i took for granted.. is it really worth it? im confused... need some feed back c

Answer 1

it depends , do you have the money to stay home? I love being a stay at home mommy. staying at home is worth it cause some stuff that the kids do only happens once, and then you'd miss out.

Answer 2

If I could afford to I would definately stay at home with my kids. However, I do believe that there is a downside to this as well. When the children are babies I would say yes they definately need a full time mum but I think once they get to about 18 months it is good to have a break from the children by way of going out to work and establishing a life away from home. I think the children benefit also because they learn to be a little bit independant. Staying at home full time is very stressful and I am sure that children would rather have an un-stressed but happy mother who has missed them during the day as opposed to a stressed mum who is shouting at them and frustrated because she has not had any time to herself.

It is a case of finding the right balance and finding that dream job that allows you to do the hours that you want to do whilst paying a decent wage! If you find that dream job and there's another going spare, give me a shout!

Answer 3

I worked and still do. My husband works a Mon. thru Fri. job on day shift. I worked a job that had some weekdays off and worked every other weekend. Later I went to the same schedule but on night shift. With this schedule they spent only two days a week with a sitter that came to our house. It makes life easier to have two incomes. I think that it made my children more responsible and they can take care of themselves. There were times that they did not like it but for the most part it was normal to them. Now they are 17, 13 and 11. They realize how different our life would be with one income. I have also seen woman that stayed at home for years with the kids and then had their husbands leave them. They had no marketable skills after all of that time and were left destitute. This happened to a few relatives and one family friend when I was a teenager. I had made up my mind then that I would always be able to take care of myself. It is a trade off either way but you can make both of them work for you. Since you choose to work, do not feel quilty.

Answer 4

I am a working mother too. I know exactly how you feel. When my son was little, I had the same feeling. But you know what? He did absolutely terrific in day care! He enjoyed playing with other kids and learning. YES LEARNING!

What counts the most is what kind of mother you are when you return. It really is about quality and not quantity. Sounds so cliche, but it is true.

Also, it is very important for women to maintain their independence. I know too many women who "stayed out of the game" and when their husbands left them, they had no skills to work. I'm not saying that is ever going to happen to you, but lets face it, you have to be prepared to take care of yourself and your child. You just never know what is in the cards.

So, I think it is terrific you are a working mother. Be proud of it. Be proud of the fact that your son will be learning in his environment and that you will be making money so that you can have a good life and a good retirement.

So, don't feel bad about contributing to the world and being a working mother.

I wish you well.

Answer 5

i have been in that situation before, i had a high management job and a daughter in all day child care, it wasnt nice as you cant focuson neither, when i was at work i woudl feel guilty for not seeing my daughter all day long but to put her to bed and when i was at home i was trying to catch up on work i needed to finish, i balanced it for a year, untill i decided that enough was enough, my daugther and i had no mother and daughter relationship, and that made me realise that my family, my daughter was more inmportant, now she is four and i am doing a aster degree at university, this way i feel like even if im around more, im still doing something usefull for my self and im there for her too, Is very difficult to balance both aspects, but my opinion is, get a part time job, where you will be able to grow and interact with other adults but also you can be home with your baby.

Answer 6

Your baby is always going to be your baby - but time goes by so quickly and before you know it - they are off to school, college etc.

The best solution is part time work - that way you have job satisfaction and your son has time with you. If of course you can afford to.

There is no right and wrong with motherhood - we are all on the same team!

Answer 7

I am in a home education group, so our children never go to school and we have them at home until they are adults. Many of the parents are single, but of those who aren't, because our children are always at home, we all find our own ways to work round it. My wife and i work from home and avoid clashes. Other people have a lot of sleepovers. Other parents have one specialise in staying with the children and the other working. Others have qualified as childminders and share the childcare for each other. We also have reciprocal arrangements for having the children at different times or doing each other various favours.

I think the ideal is for both parents to stay at home and work from home. At other times, they can fill in for each other and have groups of children sleeping over at each others' houses. It isn't a choice of one or the other, but of managing to juggle both. However, it does help to have a social support network of other parents around you to share the childcare, and this means having other families' children overnight or even for several days at a time.

Answer 8

i work part time to support my family if i could i would stay at home but bills need paying and kids need feeding i always thought i was missing out on stuff but workin short hours i get the chance to do creative things and read them story and help them with anything they want to do

Answer 9

I had to go back to work 6 weeks after the birth of each of my two daughters. I was devastated but in my job I had the ability to work night shifts, so thats what I did. Worked three split nights and nearly killed myself because I was so tired not sleeping in the day. But it meant that I could be a "full time" Mum too.

Your dammed if you do and dammed if you don't. It has to be about whats is right for you AND your child. What about working part time?

Answer 10

It's not so much is it a mom's place at home or not. It's more can she afford to be home...lol