I don’t, ever. But I get TDed heavily for just saying that SAHMs are looked down upon by Feminists for exercising their CHOICE (of staying at home). Go figure! =P

You haven’t described anything a father also doesn’t do as well, also while going to work. But they can’t take a nap when the baby does.

I am not saying that it is an easy job but most people build it up to being a harder job than it actually is. I do all the same things as a single father and I get all my stuff done, work 40-50 hrs a week and have plenty of time to play.

Having a baby was a personal choice of mine and I will never complain about the responsibilities that come with it.

EDIT: My house is always clean and there is always a cooked meal on the table, it really does not take me that long. Just saying if you plan your day out it is really not that hard. Funny everything else you mention is the part of parenting I enjoy. Going to the games, teaching, etc!

EDIT: And that is great, it takes a little planning. But that is not hard, just time consuming like anyone elses job. All I am saying is being a SAHP is not easy, but it is not as hard as people make it out to be. Sorry my pedistal is just not that big.

And you did that with work as you say. Being a SAHM you would have all day to do that.

I don’t think it’s easy, and there is no harm for wanting some credit. But to think SAHM should be glorified for taking care of her own offspring is ridiculous in my opinion. Glorification of single mothers wreaks of victim hood.

I did all those things as both a SAHM..and a working mom.

I hate to be mean but…. Really? You are not working, there is no boss and you have time to bond with your child. If you did not want to be a Stay at home mom then you should not have had kids, Agin i am not trying to be mean but you are talking like this is your “job” when its your responsibility . Thats like if you got a dog and then cryed about how much you have to walk him or he will poop in the house.
Point being its YOUR kid and you need to get over your self

Raising children isn’t easy…it never is. It isn’t any harder if you’re a stay at home mom rather than a working mom. In fact, working moms work harder. They make money to raise their kids PLUS everything you mentioned, in about half the time. Take that into account.

Nobody forced you into having kids; everyone knows what comes with it.

I don’t sympathize with SAHM, if that’s what you’re trying to achieve.

Ignorance. People have heard for so long that being a SAHM is vacuous and that we are mere parasites, that the work we do requires no brain power whatsoever, that they have started believing it. Bully for them. Those of us who’ve done it know that it’s difficult.

Well that all sounds very easy to me. Imagine having to sit at a desk all day and do nothing…

Well, small children are tiring to look after, but once they are all at school it all gets much easier. Of course, it depends how many children you have, if you keep on having children a lot then of course you are going to have inerrupted nights for years and years.

Personally, I think it sounds like you work too hard. I personally did less housework when I had small children at home, and I would go to sleep in the afternoons when they did. I don’t do as much running around as you do. It sounds to me like he’s a bit of a dead loss.

I would never have dreamt of going back to work when my children were small, too exhausting. I wouldn’t even do it now, when they are at school.

And frankly, if I was working as well as looking aftr kids etc I probably wouldn’t do any home cooking at all, I’d just get ready made meals etc. And at weekends i’d just want to relax.

Anyway, doesn’t your husband ever do anything? He needs to pull his finger out and help more, it sounds like you are doing absolutely everything. Raising children is a two-person job. He needs to be a bit more active. it wouldn’t kill him to cook a meal once in a while, or help out a bit with the children.

I can remember my mom waking up at 4 am to get my dad off to work then getting to bed after 2 am because she was walking my little sister around the house with an ear ache. Mom really does have the hardest job. I had surgery on my knee a year or so back and was at home for a week. I watched my wife do more running, more errands, and do more work than I do before 10 am at my job. It made me appreciate how tough she has it. Mind you, my wife works 30 hours outside the home as well. I realized that when I stayed home to give my wife a break, I was just babysitting. I say that because I was not washing clothes, cooking meals, organizing dentist appointments, and all the rest while taking care of the kids. 3 hours with my two boys will wear you out just playing with them. No way could I do everything else too. Bless moms and tell yours that you love her today.

From reading the responses, apparently people don’t realize that SOMEONE has to do these things while you’re at work – you pay for day care for a reason! So I don’t know how you can claim to do ALL of these things and then work on top of it because clearly, someone else is doing them for you.

Being a stay at home mom is certainly tough, especially if you’re a “good” stay at home mom. I was talking with my mom a few weeks ago (I’m the youngest of 6 kids), and she was telling me how much money she would save the family by clipping coupons and watching the circulars before shopping, running errands to 4 or more stores to get the best deals, by cooking all home-made meals, making Halloween costumes “in house,” and other things that people really don’t do much of any more. In all reality, between that and the money she saved on day care, plus the money she brought in teaching piano lessons, it essentially was like having another working parent in the house!

All that being said, once all the kids are older and in school for most of the day, things get a lot easier if you’re still a SAHM, with the exception of the summer time of course. The kids aren’t around quite as much to mess up the house, and you have all day to run errands, clean up, and get dinner started. However, like I said earlier, with my mother at least, she was so thorough and meticulous about making sure our family saved money and only bought the best deals that she didn’t have all that much free time until we all were older – basically the time we started going off to college.

As evident by so many people’s posts, people must feel like they are able to both be a mother and work, thus SAHMs are either lazy or incompetent to be unable to do both. Obviously, there are some who are, but I’d hardly consider them good mothers, and they wouldn’t be regardless of whether or not they worked. A good SAHM treats each day like a job, and although there may be many more desirable jobs out there, there is not a single job that is more noble or worthwhile than being a SAHM.