As I've mentioned before in my other posts I'm sure, today's world is a lot different than it used to be. Now, it seems as though there's a fight for more women to leave the home and go to work (including more and more mothers lately). It's this right that we as women have finally won it seems.
Now I do not necessarily believe that mother's needing to work is a problem. My own mom has been working a part-time job since I was the last kid at home and had started going to high school all day long. She needed to do this to help out the family with more income. So that was great of her to go out a find a job that she was able to work. When it is financially necessary, it might be of help for the wife go seek employment. But for simply seeking out luxuries, I believe that the better place for a mother is with her children than in the office. When the children are still young and at home, not able to care for themselves, the better place for a mother is with her children.
However, young mothers who have babies and then go back to work, leaving these babies and children to be raised by nanny's or day care institutions, are actually hindering their family rather than helping. When both parents are gone at work instead of in the home (dual earners) research has shown that this hinders the growth of the children because their needs are not being met.
Some usually suppose that they can meet their families needs by going out and earning an extra income to provide more for their families. However, it seems that those needs aren't the ones that are lacking.
When mothers are able, I think it is extremely important for them to be in the home teaching, training, and nurturing their children while they are young and learning. Just being there for them and raising them yourself makes all the difference in their lives. Being a full time employee and a full time parent is nearly impossible. And when it comes down to it, research on select families has shown that these extras incomes that the mothers are bringing in, generally isn't enough to make up for the money that they are already paying monthly for nannying or day care services and enough to make up for that which the children grow up lacking.
One study observed young children on a play ground and asked the kids about some other kids whose parents were dual earners. These children interviewed referred to those kids who didn't have parents at home as the "meaner" kids in the school. Of course that may not be true for all dual earner's children. However, it is an interesting correlation.
In Germany, some employed women can get 3 years of paid maternity leave. That sounds like an awesome deal right? But what they found was that these women actually weren't coming back. They found that they didn't want to come back to work anymore after spending that much time with their babies/children.
Some may look down on mother's in the home and say that they "trade in their minds for mothering". Well, not being a mother myself yet but seeing my own and many other mothers in my family I can testify that being a mother and raising children is anything but mindless work.
Being a full time homemaker and a mother is hard work. I don't know about you but I personally have never seen a mother in the home free to just sit on the couch all day doing nothing. If anything, every mother that I see at their home is constantly running around, going here and there, and taking care of the needs of the entire family. It is not mindless work to constantly be a teacher to your children. I have seen/heard/observed my own sister with her four young kids and it seems that sometimes they truly test her knowledge with the endless questions that they ask! Not only that, but she teaches them about life, how to live, what's right and what's wrong. She works hard to help them form good habits. She is there for them constantly.
It might be bold to say but I think that if every parent spent that much time and effort on rearing their children, we might have a stronger and more caring generation of people on this earth.
Mothers should remember that their children usually need more of their mother than of money.
When it is within their means for a mother to be at home with her children, what's more important? Being there for your children? Or being there for your boss?
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