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One of the greatest gifts a woman can give to herself and her children is being a stay-at-home mom. Those of us who make this choice tend to say that we are eternally grateful each and every day that we made the decision to leave our jobs in order to raise our children full-time. We believe that we have the best job in the world, but admit that it isn't always easy. Stay-at-home moms often do not get the recognition they deserve, and are often unfairly compared to those who continue to work after having children.

People sometimes tend to stereotype the mother who stays at home as sitting on the couch watching soap operas or Oprah while eating bon bons. Those of us who do this job know that nothing could be further from the truth. We've all seen the studies that have been done which attempt to attach an estimated yearly salary to the work entailed in being a homemaker. The figures are astounding! Parenting becomes a 24 hour job when you leave the workplace to care for children. Late nights, few breaks, an enormous amount of work, and unfortunately, an apparent lack of appreciation from the bosses, namely the children and/or spouse, becomes the norm. Then there are the friends or family members who question or ridicule a mother's decision to stay home, at which point, a high degree of guilt can kick in. Few people realize that despite the fact that we may not be bringing in a salary, our households are benefiting by eliminating the costly expense of child care. Working just to pay for child care is simply not worth it. Times may be a little tighter financially when a woman is a stay-at-home mom, but more often than not, times are happier.

It is also extremely important to be fair to working mothers as well. There are so many women who work all day and then come home to take care of the children and the house. Some mothers often have no other choice. They perhaps do not have to deal with a lack of recognition, but they have a whole host of other issues to contend with, such as stress and the guilt of not being home with their children. Working mothers deserve as much praise and recognition as those who stay home.

There is one fact that all stay-at-homes moms seem to be absolutely certain of. When our children are grown and look back on their childhoods, we know that they will be thankful that their mothers were there for them during the formative years. We are fortunate enough to be able to drop them off at school and pick them up afterwards. All the money in the world could not compare to the sight of a child's happy face when they see their mom at the end of the school day. Again, it is a gift to the mothers and a gift to the children . The lack of recognition can sometimes be a very real obstacle to being a stay-at-home mom, but most would not trade the experience for the world. After all, the only recognition we truly need comes from our children.

Learn more about this author, Mary Ann Rudy.
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