How to be More Than a Stay-at-Home Mom

A stay-at-home mom has a tough job that deserves a lot of credit, but it's hard to see yourself as anything more than a mom when you are home all day with the kids; so be more than a mom! Be a stay-at-home organizer, creator, volunteer, fitness diva and trip planner. Enjoy being home and think of ways to make being a stay-at-home mom exciting and memorable.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Other moms

1. Organize play groups with other stay-at-home moms in your area. You may not know them yet, but they're easy to find at your child's school or on the playground.

2. Create a mom's club. Once you've found your partners in exhaustion, devote one night a month to a nice dinner without husbands or kids, or trade services within your club.

3. Volunteer in your child's classroom. You will be surrounded by even more children, but an organized environment where you can contribute but not be in charge may just brighten your day.

4. Become a fitness guru. Well, maybe not a guru, but just because your pants have been decorated with stickers and you're sporting the newest strained peas look on your sleeve, doesn't mean you can't be sexy underneath.

5. Take your kids out of the house! Nothing makes you feel more like "just a stay-at-home mom" than staying home. Go to the park, the pool, the mall, the zoo or anywhere you want to go, just go!

Tips & Warnings

• Create a schedule with the other mom's in your area, and give each other a day off every now and then.

[stlScout]

on 10/20/2008 Good advice.

[Berengaria]

on 6/28/2007 Can't say enough about this one--I'd like to add that I don't think the public school system could continue without the assistance of stay-at-home parents who give time and energy both to classrooms and to fundraising. Our school volunteers (both professional and at-home) raised $122,000 at the annual elementary school auction, which went to funding staff positions the school would otherwise have lost due to budget cuts. While not every school can raise this kind of dough, the labor that at-home parents give is priceless and an enormous contribution to the well-being of the country.

[Berengaria]

on 6/27/2007 Yikes! My hackles went up with the words "more than a stay-at-home mom", just like they did when a working mom said to me one day, "So you just stay at home, right?" as if I was basking in the sun eating bonbons, occasionally checking on the children. But I know what you're talking about--I've been an at-home mom for almost sixteen years with no plans to work out of the home, and it is hard on the identity. Do meet other moms at home and bolster your self-esteem, which can wither on the vine, especially during those isolating winter months.