“Is Your Mother Home?”

A salesman approached a door. Inside, a young man was dutifully, dully practicing the piano. The salesman said, “Young man, is your mother home?” the boy replied, “What do you think?”

Thank goodness for moms! Without them none of us would be decent piano players, Eagle Scouts, know how to clean a toilet, or make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Moms are the ones that help us follow through on our chores, teach us to be hard workers, develop our talents, and strengthen our character.

Working Moms Vs.  Stay at Home Moms

In today’s world more and more mothers are going back to work. That percentage has increased from 47.4% in 1975 to 71.2% in 2008. One in four of their children spend their days in childcare. From research we see that spending many hours a week in a childcare facility has negatively affected our children. While mothers are in the workforce they cannot provide the care for their children that is needed. Children are not learning lesson from their mother that greatly impact their decision-making skills and future. They have to learn more from their mistakes instead of the example and counsel from their mother. They are showing “poorer work habits, behavior problems such as aggression, conflict, and risk taking behaviors through childhood and into adolescents.”

As a full time mom and a full time college student, I understand the struggles that many mothers face. When I am at school my mind is concerned about my little boy, and when I am at home, I am constantly thinking about my homework and upcoming assignments. It is so hard to find the balance, but I know that my children will benefit greatly from having a mother with a college education that chooses to stay home.

According to C. S. Lewis, “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ” This is true because mothers are the ones raising the next generation that will eventually support our society. This is why it is so important for a mother to be at home nurturing, teaching, and supporting their children. 

Moms Make a Difference in Building a Child’s Self –Esteem and Confidence

Some mothers enter the workforce after their children are old enough for school. They believe their children are more mature and can do things for themselves.

When 150 first and second grade students were interviewed about their home life, the 98 of the students who had working mothers reported that their mothers spent less time helping them with homework, playing with them, visiting family, and they rarely served them meals. The children felt they were deprived concerning some of those daily routines. From this we see that even as children get older they still desire their mothers to be at home to help them with those basic things.

When a mother works, there isn’t much time left at the end of the day for quality time with her children. Her tasks include getting the kids fed, bathed and put to bed. When a mother is at home there is more time to include the children on some of her simple tasks. As they wash the dishes, or weed the garden, or fold laundry together, this gives them the opportunity to open up and discuss what is happening in their lives, ask questions, teach life principles, and build a closer relationship. These things all help a child to create self-esteem and confidence which in turn enables them to cope with difficult challenge that will arise in their future.

Mothers and More

There are many organizations throughout the world that help and support mothers. One in particular that I came across is called Mothers and More. According to their website, Mothers and More is a support system for mothers through all their many “stages, phases, and transitions of motherhood.” Mothers "engage in a larger community of women who are experiencing the challenges that all mothers face, not only in raising children but also in fulfilling their sense of self and self worth." Mothers and more is a unique organization because it “focuses on you as a mother, woman, and individual.” I believe joining an organization like this one could be a powerful tool in advocating for the importance of motherhood and family through sharing positive experiences.

What YOU can do!

At the individual level mothers can be setting a good example by staying home with their children and advocating for mothers taking advantage of the special time they have with their children and teaching them the skills they need to be successful citizens. Stay at home moms not only have the opportunity to be home with their children, but they also can be serving in their community and school where they reside. That in turn helps the society as well because those children will become hard working and self-reliant leaders of society. The government can help by standing up for the family through policy that encourages fathers to take on their responsibility of providing for their family, making it possible for mothers to fulfill their role of raising the next generation.

These are just a few benefits of mothers staying at home with their children. Don’t be one of those mothers who misses out on their child’s life and later is filled with regret. Those days only come once. Take advantage of them while you can and enjoy this special time together. So, the next time someone comes to your door, how do you want your child to respond to the question, “Is your mother home”?

References

Childstats.gov, America’s Children: Key Indicators of National Wellbeing, 2010

Erickson, E. (2011, January 1). FamilyFacts.org. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://familyfacts.org/reports/2/the-effects-of-day-care-on-the-social-emotional-development-of-children

Ichilov, O. (1986). Working Mothers: Some Consequences from a First and Second Graders’ Perspective. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 16(2), 273-289.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics, 2009.

http://mothersandmore.org/?