Affording to Stay at Home

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-01-2007
Affording to Stay at Home
1968
Wed, 12-12-2007 - 12:20am

Ever notice that those moms that SAH are usually (although not always) more well off than mothers who WOH? It seems to me, based on what I have seen, that while most women enjoy working their jobs and having a professional life outside of the home, some women prefer to stay home with their kids for a certain amount of time - whether it be 1 year or 10 years - and those women have the option to do so, while other women wouldn't even consider the option because they feel they can't afford it.

Well, it has been my experience that most women who do stay at home have

1) husbands who support the idea

2) Husbands who probably earn enough (or almost enough) to support the family.

3) Enough money to support themselves without working.

**Now I am not talking about people who get help from government agencies, I am speaking about women who do it with no outside help - just seems like most women can't because of financial reasons. So, is being a SAH mom now an "upper class" phenomenon - in general? Of course there are many SAH moms that are middle class, but if they chose to have paying jobs, they'd probably move right back up into that higher income bracket.

Blythe

http://beaworkathomemom.blogspot.com/

Working on being...Supermom!

Blythe http://beaworkathomemom.blogspot.com/ Working on being...Supermom!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2005
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:25pm
..and family. ;)
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-17-2005
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:27pm
Well, when I looked back - it looks like I did.
Avatar for mom34101
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:29pm
But kids aren't likely to wake up one day and say, mom, will you take me to the met?
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:31pm

I do want them to aim higher than any of the manual trades.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:33pm
Whatever.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:35pm
Uh-oh, I'm afraid the Snob Level Indicator is moving toward the right...
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-04-1997
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:39pm
But why wouldn't your children WANT to go up the Empire State Building or ride the Staten Island Ferry or go see the Statue of Liberty or run around in the Central Park zoo and ride the carousel there? Why wouldn't your children be interested in seeing a Broadway show or the holiday decorations on Fifth Avenue? Most kids get a kick out of riding the subway and trying the different foods you can sample or just walking around Greenwich Village. Most kids have a blast at the Museum of Natural History at least. Not to mention the New York Aquarium or the Bronx Zoo or the Hall of Science or the Manhattan Children's Museum. Mine got a kick out of seeing the NYSE building and just walking around near the Brooklyn Bridge. I can't imagine ANY kid not wanting to do at least SOME of these things!
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-29-2004
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:40pm
One case proves nothing; that's statistics, and it's something all rocket scientists
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-12-2005
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:43pm
It's okay, my family also includes one of those anecdotal high school dropouts who goes on to become successful, and a high school graduate who worked their way through the ranks. Of course, they are the loudest advocates of living in a good neighborhood, with good schools and neighbors who encourage education. But that's a whole 'nother story.
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-04-1997
Thu, 12-27-2007 - 4:44pm
I don't live in a world where a "learned profession" is "higher" than a "manual trade." I want my kids to do something with their lives that is meaningful, moral, and leaves the world a little better or more beautiful than it was had they never existed. I want them to be happy, fulfilled, and to live thoughtful lives on the planet. Since we have spent the last fifteen plus years exposing our kids to as much as we possibly could about what life has to offer them, I am confident in their abilities to find their own paths to "success." However they choose to make their livings, they will have a solid educational platform from which to spring.

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