Sacrifices for Children

1485 Words3 Pages

Sacrifices for Children: Is it necessary that they have a stay at home parent

It used to be, that the wife was the designated house maker, and the husband would go work to work the day shift and make all the money. The wife would then take care of the kids and raise them and look after them while the father was away. Since then many things have changed. Women can get jobs easier now and make just as much or more money than men, so the problem arises what to do with the children while the parents are out. There are some fathers who stay at home and look after them even though this is not typical. Some parents ship their kids off to daycare, and leave the responsibility to some one else. Then some parents go to the extent of home schooling their kids. Some where in between these extremes there has to be a prosperous medium.
“Of the 41.8 million children under 15 who lived with two parents last year, more than 25% had mothers who did not work and stayed home, according to a Census Bureau report,” Genaro Armas writes. This is an increase of stay at home parents which maybe because of the economic boom. Many people are wondering why you would give up a job, and economic security just to raise your kids. What most don’t realize is that you are taking on another job when you take care if your kids. The Census Bureau also reported that 55% of women who gave birth between July 1999 and July 2000 returned to the labor force within a year of having their babies. This means that most mothers do not end up at home like old times. They are choosing there own economic safety over there child’s well being. They still have time with there children just while they are at work they just like to forget where there children are.

One of the issues that parents are dealing with is money. They believe that they can’t have a stay at home parent, because they wouldn’t be able to live off of one parent’s salary. However what many people don’t know that the value of a stay a home parent is a lot more than one would imagine. According to Barbara Sefton, “The stay-at-home mother is on duty an average of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. She provides a service with a market value of approximately $36,000 annually.” This is more than some individual salaries. Most do not realize how much work a stay a stay at home mom does, from c...

... middle of paper ...

...loves there child and will do a fine job. The best way would be if the parents found a way to split the responsibility with each other. That way you could spend equal time with the children and build good family relationships. As a guy I wouldn’t mind being a stay at home father. It sounds like an awesome job. Taking care of the kids and making sure nothing bad happens to them would give me great joy. The only reason I would not want to be a complete stay at home dad, is the economic independence. I wouldn’t want to waste my wife’s money on stupid things that I would want for fun. I would have to get a small job for myself. I think the best would be if I could work out of my home. That way I could make some decent money and still keep after the kids.

Armas, Genaro C. “More children raised by stay-at-home parents.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. June, 2003.
C.M. “Let Them Go - children and day care.” Psychology Today. Nov, 1999.
Kinnon, Bennett. “Bruce and Candace Matthews: pioneers in new family phenomenon: a stay-at-home dad turns the tables on tradition.” Ebony. August, 2003.
Sefton, Barbara Wylan. “The Market Value of the Stay-at-home Mother.” Mothering Magazine. Jan, 1998.

Open Document