About Stay at Home Moms

Stay-at-home moms, also known as housewives and homemakers, are women who choose to stay at home to raise their children rather than enter the workforce. While a very traditional role, both feminist and anti-feminist groups cite it as a very important job.

Reasons to Become a Stay-at-Home Mom

Some women choose to become stay-at-home mothers because they simply find the work satisfying. Others do so because it is easier, less expensive, or more convenient than hiring a babysitter or a nanny. Other families have enough income from one parent that the other does not have to work, and instead chooses to stay home with the children.

Women in the Workforce

While once homemaking was the expected role for women (save for those who became teachers or nurses) this is no longer necessarily the case. During World War II, women were encouraged to work in factories both to replace the men who had gone off to war and to help the war effort. When soldiers returned home from war, they expected to find their jobs just as they left them and their wives in the kitchen. However, even this brief time had laid the seeds of equal rights. The rise of feminism in the 1950s and '60s pushed equal rights further into the public consciousness. By this point, being a stay-at-home mom is no longer assumed; it is a role that a woman chooses, among many others.

Feminism and Homemakers

Some early feminist writers advocated a complete abandonment of traditionally feminine roles, believing that they were inherently unequal. Homemaking especially was seen as a throwback to less enlightened times. On the other hand, many modern feminists hold that there is nothing so important as everyone being free to choose their role; while being pressured to fit a role that society would prefer is wrong, there is nothing wrong with a woman choosing to become a homemaker, and that it is indeed a noble role. As there is no one branch of feminism that is any more right than the others, stay-at-home moms may be accused of helping or hurting the feminist cause.

Stay-at-Home Dads

With more and more women entering more lucrative fields, some families are deciding that it is better for all involved for the father to stay home and fulfill the role once occupied exclusively by mothers. The responsibilities for stay-at-home dads are largely the same as those for stay-at-home moms, and though it is somewhat unusual for a man to be a homemaker, it is becoming more common. One should note that there is no one definition for "homemaker," so the responsibilities will vary from family to family. Househusbands may face some prejudice even in modern society. It is expected for a man to be the "breadwinner," so while women in the home are more likely to be treated respectfully, some may dismiss men in the home as "unemployed."

Misconceptions

As a writer does not write 24 hours a day, and a baker does not bake non-stop, a stay-at-home mom does not need to be a homemaker without pause. Many women choose to be stay-at-home moms only temporarily, returning to work when the children are old enough to care for themselves, or taking part-time jobs while their children are at school. Others may take classes or pursue interests. Many housewives may work from home to supplement the family income, taking work as freelance writers or artists in their spare time, or by offering whatever services they can. The evolving nature of society largely means that there is no one definition of "stay-at-home mom," and the role is something for each family to decide for itself.