Stay-at-home mom's work worth $138,095

I'm jealous! I wish I could be a stay-at-home Mom, too. But, alas, it's a privilege that my family can't afford. If I knew I could get paid for staying at home I'd sign up in a heartbeat!

Hey! I really have to say kudos to the men here that appreciate stay at home moms. I stayed home for 2 years with both my kids. After that I started college so they only had to be in daycare for a couple of hours a day. I have never understood why stay at home moms get such a bad rap in certain circles. We have had friends "I use that word loosly" that looked down on stay at home moms like they were some kind of drain on society because they didnt have some high paying job.

Now I have my degree and my husband and I are about to switch roles. He is going to school and taking care of the kids while I work. I think it will work out well. He has been in the military so he missed a lot of things with the kids that he now will have a chance to do.

Well, add to that the fact that many women these days(men, too!) are WORKING AT HOME. The jobs are not always easy to find, but for the stay at home mom who's man does not make enough $$, this is a very nice option to have.

I don't see how someone with 8 children would be able to handle a job on top of it all!!!
I don't know how some of you do it.

$138K a year for real now, thats waaaaaaaaaay underpaid.

MY wife and I split the duties in the hosue as we both work. Because I work 24 hour shifts, im off 5 days a week (But the day after a busy 24 hour is rough to say the least) and that amount quoted seems really cheap IMHO.

Originally posted by kokoro
. I have never understood why stay at home moms get such a bad rap in certain circles.

Since this is a conspiracy site, I'd like to venture a theory on that one. The banks would like to see both parents working, since that increased household income. That in term increased the amount the couple can afford to pay for housing, and means more dollars are chasing the same number of homes. The result is house prices go up, and the couple have to borrow more money to pay for the house.. (which of course then can, because both parents are working).

The only people who benefit from this arrangement are those the lend the money.

Think about it. It now takes two parents, working their ass off, to pay for the same house that their grandparents could afford with just the husband working. The don't get any more for their money. It could be argued that encouraging women into the job market had nothing to do with "liberation", and everything to do with enriching the moneylenders.

There is truth behind the notion that real income is far more valuable to the controlling companies in our society rather than saved or relative income.

The only problems that come up with two wage earners in a family, that no one here has really directly addressed (I may have skimmed over the posts) is the human factor. Again, as a stay-at-home father, I offer something that you can't put a price on for my family. It is peace of mind, psychological stability, comfort by way of my presence and them knowing that I'll be doing those things they need to get on with their day. I do the dishes, I clean the clothes, the house, I buy the groceries, I pay the bills (sometimes - my wife actually is picky about this one), I am what I consider the one who picks up where everyone leaves off. And because of this, if I were to work outside the home, which is something I will be doing shortly because debt has begun to win over on us, the quality of life changes.

For me, when my children are young, there is no substitute for being there. And there is no price you can place on that for them, for yourself or your family. It is the cornerstone of any future you plan to build with your kids and your wife. It is not glamorous, it doesn't afford fancy cars or eating out often or new clothes on a regular basis (except the kids, they're constantly growing. ahhhhhh!) You lose much of your personal life and are limited to few chances to be with people outside the home except school functions and the people you see at the grocery store, etc. Your home becomes your office which for some is boring. But that doesn't have to be, either.

The thing stay-at-home parenting affords well beyond the $138K per year figure is this...a chance to grow as a person with the people you committed to be with in the first place...your family. The pay off....they have someone to trust and see the world not as a scary place defined by material things, but a world that includes people.

Endnote: this is possible, also with dual-earner couples with kids. However, as the need to earn more grows and inflation increases and things get more expensive, time is not on the side for married people both working. There is nothing left on either end of the candle to burn after a while. There is no candle.