A stay at home mum worked for us. (Working Mums vs. Stay at Home Mums)

Member Name: D-RAY2000

Product:	Working Mums vs. Stay at Home Mums
Date:	15/10/08 (92 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Having a parent around definitely benefits the kids I feel.

Disadvantages: It could leave you struggling financially.

I think this is an exceptionally interesting subject; working mums vs stay at home mums.

My wife held down a job through our first 3 years of marriage but we had always known that when we started a family she would give up working until our kids were of school age then she would perhaps go back full time or even take on a part time job. We are lucky in that my wage is easily enough for the family to live on but not everyone is so lucky.

Should women give up working to look after their kids full time if they are going to struggle financially, well that is a different story.

If you as a family cannot live in comfort and are going to end up financially insecure then I would suggest that both parents working is the only answer because as much as I think it benefits our kids having their mum around 24/7, I also think it they would miss the holidays and the treats that they get when I am off work if we could not afford them.

It is not all about money though and people have to do what is right or feels right for them. My wife worked from the age of 16 until the age of 24 when she had our first child.

My wife also worked throughout her pregnancy and only gave up work three weeks before her due date. I was never sure she would be able to be a stay at home mum because she loved her job and we had even discussed me being a stay at home father which I was not entirely against but it made sense for my wife to stay at home and me to work because my wage was a lot higher than hers so we had the comfort of knowing we could live comfortably and have a parent with the kids at all times.

My wife is now undoubtedly desperate to get back to work and with our oldest now at school and our youngest starting nursery soon it will not be too long before she can, she has decided to put our youngest to afternoon nursery and look for an afternoon part time job so her mum can pick the kids up from school and nursery and watch them for an hour or so till I get home and that way we do not need childcare.

This is what has worked for us but I am sure every family and even every individual will see it all a different way. I firmly believe that if the family can afford it then the kids will benefit from having one or the other parent stay at home but if it will cause a struggle financially then that has to be taken into account!

Summary: Whatever works for the individual family!