Less than a century ago, except for mothers who were working in the fields or in farms, being a working mom was not heard of. Mothers were expected to raise their kids, manage the housework, and cook while the fathers were out working to support their families. However, things have evolved over time. Inflation has made the cost of living really expensive. Nowadays it’s hard for fathers alone to make enough money to support the entire family.
Additionally, over time, women wanted to start getting into the workforce so that they could contribute more to society. They wanted more than just being home with the kids, in charge of cooking and housekeeping. So let’s see the advantages and disadvantages of a stay-at-home mom vs working mom.
Pros Of Being A Stay-At-Home Mom
Bond with Their Babies
In some countries, maternity leave is not long and does not give working mothers the opportunity to spend the time needed to bond with their babies. That said, some working women ended up deciding to put their careers or jobs on hold in order to take care of their kids.
Moms who stay home with their kids have all of the time in the world to bond with their babies. Additionally, they can take care of the housework, and take time to cook. They can run errands and take their babies with them. Stay-at-home moms can tackle all the housework and child-rearing without other significant distractions.
Spend Time with the Father
Additionally, when the fathers come home from work, moms will expect dads to pitch in and help out to give them a small break. Once the mom has had enough time to recharge, then she will have more energy to spend quality time with him. It is extremely important for parents to spend time alone together without any distractions. That will strengthen their marriage or relationship.
Go to Baby Programs
Another positive aspect of being a stay-at-home mom is they have time to take their babies to baby programs. This is important for the development of the baby’s social skills. During this time, moms can make other mom friends. It is good for everyone to get out of the house once in a while to socialize.
Cons Of Being A Stay-At-Home Mom
Boredom
Moms can get very bored because all they do is spend time with their babies and take care of the housework. The only excitement in their life besides some days here and there to socialize with their mom friends is managing the housework and caring for their babies.
Tight Funds
When the mom stays at home with the baby, funds are extremely tight and the family might have to be pinching pennies. They will often have to give up spending money on things they enjoy as a result. That can become stressful.
Clingier Babies
Babies that are raised by a stay-at-home mom are known to be clingier because their moms are with them all of the time. That said, separation anxiety from mom will become worse once they start going to preschool. That is why it is important for stay-at-home moms to leave their babies with anyone they trust such as a family member. Or, they can hire a reputable sitter from a good-quality agency that screens their sitters to stay with the baby while the mom goes out to have some ME time. In fact, if stay at home moms did that, they would not feel resentful of their role so often.
Resentfulness
Stay-at-home moms end up resentful. Firstly, they resent their husbands being able to break away to work. They become even more resentful when the fathers come home and they don’t want to pitch in right after work. They might also become resentful if their efforts don’t seem to be appreciated by the fathers. For instance, if partners are critical of their dinners, that might make moms blood boil. The best thing to do in order to reduce the resentment is for moms to understand that the fathers need at least half an hour to unwind after work.
Pros Of Being A Working Mom
Affordability
First of all, when both parents work, most of the times, they can live comfortably. They can afford extra things like being able to dine out and go on vacation.
Engage in Other Activities
Working moms can engage in other things other than just motherhood. Their lives don’t revolve only around their kids. Also, the kids will become less clingy, and will not have terrible separation anxiety when they need to start going to school. Not to mention, these kids will become more independent quicker.
More Help from Partner
Husbands will be more happy to pitch in with the child-rearing and housework since their wives are also working too. Most of the times, working moms are more appreciated by their partners than stay-at-home moms.
The Cons Of Being A Working Mom
No Time for Errands
Working moms literally have no time to run errands except for the weekends. They will need to spend their weekends going grocery shopping for the next week. Some of them choose to cook in advance for the week and freeze the food.
No ME Time
Working moms don’t have any real ME time. Between them working and raising their kids, they are at a higher risk of being burned out. Not to mention, they have to deal with the daily commute going to work and coming home from work on top of dealing with the kids. That can be quite exhausting.
No Time with Their Partner
Working moms will be too tired to spend any time with their partners. Between working, and taking care of their kids after coming home, all they will want to do after the kids go to bed is soak in a hot bath and read a good book.
Why Working from Home Brings a Happy Medium
Some moms prefer to work from home because they don’t want to deal with the daily commute and leave their kids. They also want to contribute funds to the family. This will help with the money and will make them feel good for doing something other than just raising the kids and managing the home.
There are many legitimate companies that hire moms to work at home as well as companies that have customer service jobs to do from home. Some moms may choose to freelance.
The good thing when working from home is that moms can set their own working schedule. For instance, if they have to go shopping or if they have to go take their babies to the doctor, they won’t have to worry about being penalized from missing work. They will still be able to bond with their babies because they don’t have to worry about driving home after their shifts are over.
Additionally, fathers of work at home moms will appreciate their efforts and will not expect them to cook fancy dinners. Work at home moms will be able to do some light cooking with the occasional readymade dinners and take out.
There are a lot of pros and cons for both stay-at-home mom and working moms. However, moms can have the best of both worlds if they are working from home!
What is your opinion on working and stay-at-home moms? Do you think working from home brings out the best of both worlds?
Miriam Slozberg is a blogger, astrologer and freelance writer. Canadian mom of three, she writes about pregnancy and parenting, mental health, relationships and spirituality. Miriam is an advocator for mental health. She aims to help break the stigma that surrounds it.