by L.S. Watts

Created on: January 23, 2009

One of the most unappreciated career choices is being a stay at home mom. Yes, I said career choices. Being a stay at home mom is multiple full-time jobs rolled into one. Most people believe that stay at home moms (SAHMs) have it made in the shade so to speak. I am always amazed at how many people think we have an abundant amount of time on our hands. In fact, I don't know how many friends and family have called me up asking me to do something at a drop of the hat. As if I don't already have a large list of things to do.

Many people perceive stay at home moms as couch potatoes watching soap operas all day or sitting at the computer goofing off. This isn't always the case. Most stay at home moms do most if not all the cooking, the cleaning, providing taxi service to the kids, the budget, the laundry, and so much more. In fact, stay at home moms are constantly moving and on most days realizing there just isn't enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. Even though being a SAHM has its challenges, it still has its many rewards.

I have talked with other stay at home moms regarding how they feel we are perceived by society today. We all agreed that when someone asks us what we do for a living and we respond that we are a stay at home mom, we generally get a response that has a hint of disapproving judgment to it. We also realized that if we tell people that we are work at home moms (WAHMs) then we are given a better, more approving response. It's as if we have to be earning some sort of income to be a person of value. Most stay at home moms know that our job -paid or not-is one of the most important jobs in the world. However, it does bother some of us that other people are not as accepting.

How other's perceive stay at home moms isn't the only issue. Many households are faced with the decision of whether they can afford for the mother to stay at home to raise their children and care for the home. In today's economy it generally takes two incomes just to survive. Many households struggle to pay bills, and give the kids things they need and ask for on one income. In today's world, everything has a price tag it seems.

Sometimes stay at home moms put pressure on themselves to return to work. Many moms had a career before having kids and decided to put their career on hold to raise a family. There are a few stay at home moms that feel guilty about doing this. They may contemplate the difficulties in returning to work at a later time because many employers do not

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