Stay-At-Home Moms

I think nowadays unless a woman works from home, is on leave from a job, is looking for work or is disabled in some way...the "stay at home Mom" is rare these days. I don't know if it makes a difference for the kids one way or another. They might be better off financially of course. How many gentlemen do you know under forty that earn equal to two people? Add in even one or two children...
True story...my aunt never had a paying job. They had one son and her husband was in banking. That boy could only watch Mr. Rogers until he was fifteen, went to the best private school, and was trained to fetch, roll over and sit from an early age. My Mom worked at least sixty hours a week and I had a laid back upbringing. We weren't rich but at least happy middle class.

Did my cousin grow up more successful? No, not at all. More happy about his childhood and adult life? No bitter as can be.
 
Gone are the days that one paycheck could provide all that was necessary to support a family.. The Middle Class has seen their wages stagnate over the last 30 years.. and the cost of raising a family increase dramatically. Most young families can't afford the luxury of a "stay at home" mom. She's out there making the rent money along with dad.
 
I was a stay at home Mom during the 70's and 80's. For awhile I made and sold wedding cakes and cleaned houses, also grew and made dry flower arrangements which I sold also. All word of mouth, nothing steady at all. My husband did have a decent job as a cost accountant and had good health insurance. It was hard but I was there for the kids. All home cooking, freezing and canning also. No fast food. For entertainment we went on picnics and swimming at the lakes. Back in the 70's Tuesday was always free at state and national parks. We managed to save and take the kids to Disney World once during their childhood. Some moms have to work, but I know of many first hand who would rather put their kids in day care than to work the way I did to save. I guess, to each his own. I wanted to be a homemaker and I accomplished that others want a career, that just wasn't for me.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I was a stay at home Mom during the 70's and 80's. For awhile I made and sold wedding cakes and cleaned houses, also grew and made dry flower arrangements which I sold also. All word of mouth, nothing steady at all. My husband did have a decent job as a cost accountant and had good health insurance. It was hard but I was there for the kids. All home cooking, freezing and canning also. No fast food. For entertainment we went on picnics and swimming at the lakes. Back in the 70's Tuesday was always free at state and national parks. We managed to save and take the kids to Disney World once during their childhood. Some moms have to work, but I know of many first hand who would rather put their kids in day care than to work the way I did to save. I guess, to each his own. I wanted to be a homemaker and I accomplished that others want a career, that just wasn't for me.
Click to expand...

Sometime staying at home is simply NOT an option... no matter how hard one tries to scrimp... Kids need to eat.. If there is nothing available but minimum wage jobs many times both parents hold down one or two. You cannot use 1970 and 1980 to pass judgment on women who have to work in 2016. I don't know a single working mom who is doing it by choice or for the pleasure of it..
 
QuickSilver said:
Gone are the days that one paycheck could provide all that was necessary to support a family.. The Middle Class has seen their wages stagnate over the last 30 years.. and the cost of raising a family increase dramatically. Most young families can't afford the luxury of a "stay at home" mom. She's out there making the rent money along with dad.
Click to expand...


I guess it depends on two things; where you live and what you expect out of life. My daughter is a stay at home mom on Prince Edward Island. Two kids and wages here stink. But they made do, never take holidays except to come over to our place for a few days a couple times a year (we lived 6 hours away) and their ancient house is 'the eternal renovation zone' because they can't afford to do the work needed. She is an artist but the art scene here is pretty dismal so she earns about enough to be able to pay for her own materials and buy her husband a Christmas gift with her own money.
 
I agree its about circumstances, lifestyle choices and how and where you want to live. Many young families need two incomes these days just to make ends meet with food and housing costs being what they are. Of course if the family fits into the higher upper middle class range these moms don't need to go out and work because they need the money, they might be well educated, have nannies and enjoy being out in the working world and earning good incomes.
 
In my experience, stay at home mums were the hardest to contact when their child was sick at school. The working mums were at work and would come to the phone but the stay at home mums were mostly out of the home. I suppose that today they are available via their mobile phones.
 
My mother was a stay at home mom back in the 50s/early 60s, and we did OK --no fancy stuff, but we were fine. Nowdays, that kind of life is rarely possible unless the working spouse earns a great deal of money. What with the cost of rent/mortgage, food, medical care, etc, today, I just don't see how it would be possible for most people. I don't really know any couples where only one is working, unless one is unemployed and looking for work, and those folks are really struggling.
 
Personally I think it depends on the number of children and standard of living a couple want, people seem to want it all nowadays, certainly in my part of the world where it’s mainly grandparents bringing up the children so the parents can enjoy the latest technology, nice cars, good social lives and holidays abroad etc.which they both have to work for...
 
Wren said:
Personally I think it depends on the number of children and standard of living a couple want, people seem to want it all nowadays, certainly in my part of the world where it’s mainly grandparents bringing up the children so the parents can enjoy the latest technology, nice cars, good social lives and holidays abroad etc.which they both have to work for...
Click to expand...

Well, that can really depend on the salary of the husband. We know a husband that worked for Ford Motor Company for years and made a darn good salary. His wife had one very small job and that was it........"stay at home mom" the rest of the years. He made enough that they took their boys on Cruises, had a cottage and couple of boats at a local lake and lived in one of the more affluent parts of southeastern Michigan. All due to his salary.
 
No one's mother worked when I was a boy. Neither did many childless wives. My uncle's wife had no children; she prepared wonderful meals and worked to make life wonderful in every other way as well. My mother, however, enjoyed working; she did so until shortly before my birth.
 
- Single income household here (always)
- Raised 6 kids (I was always a fulltime stay-at-home mom)
- Own our own home
- Being old-fashioned and frugal as I was (and still am), I was able to cut a lot of corners and save in areas most modern day families (and mothers of today) wouldn't even consider doing
- We didn't need a new home every 3-4 years
- We didn't need worldly holidays and travel
- For years we relied on a single family vehicle
- We never felt the need to renovate our home and replace the furniture every 4-5 years
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top