Mother is truly the most beautiful word in the universe. Is there any way this word could be frowned upon? Stay At Home Moms (SAHMs), in particular, give up so much to raise their children and yet this section faces constant disapproval from the so-called upwardly mobile segments of the society.
Not all mothers have the luxury of making choices. Some have to work to keep the family’s financial resources healthy or choose to work to achieve their goals of personal fulfilment. Whatever be the reason, these moms seem to get more ‘approval’ in society because they choose to work and contribute to the family financially. More times than not, mothers who choose to stay at home are considered a little lower in social standing and more often than not are looked down upon. They are considered ill-informed, out-of-touch, incompetent, uneducated...or on the extreme, they are the ‘spoilt rich’.
What are women’s choices in raising kids? If a woman overlooks her educational qualifications, or any other skills to become a ‘hands-on’ mother, she gets bad publicity. The agony is all the more if the woman was not working prior to marriage or becoming a mother and decides to stay at home to look after her children. The prejudice is that she ‘must be dumb’.
Why are there these misconceptions? Is it because raising kids is considered an easy job?
No one realises how challenging it is to be a stay-at-home mother. It is a physically draining, round-the-clock job. The bonus, of course, is seeing your child grow up secure and emotionally healthy. While there are no bonuses in terms of pay cheques or paid family vacations, SAHMs realise the payback in terms of long-term character development of the kid. Day after day, looking after family affairs makes her more balanced. Her patience grows and so does her bond with her children.
However, like employees in the corporate world, stay at home moms also want to be visible, to be appreciated for their role in creating the future. They sacrifice a lot in the process. These moms, especially in the urban setting, have a lonely job. For this reason, society should appreciate them.
The rewards for being a stay at home mom is when one sees that the child is growing up to become a good human being.
It’s basic human nature to want to be acknowledged. The subtle acknowledgement that SAHMs get when their kids crush her in their embraces usually suffices, but a little external show of gratitude and praise would do wonders. After all, we believe and continue to exhibit the traits that our mothers inculcated in us.