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To stay at home with my child I make sacrifices daily. Sometimes it feels like I sacrifice myself to stay home. Most people seem to just look down on you if you are "only" a mom. Most working people when having a conversation when you are there don't even look at you' never mind to you' for an opinion on their topic of conversation.. I never have time to do things for myself throughout the day, everything is for the child. You play, watch kids television, try to teach them anything you can, sometimes you feel drained. Sometime you crave adult conversations and interactions that you receive when you work outside the home. But instead we sacrifice the many sets of rules for our child would have to follow, now my child only has our set of rules, not our rules and the sitters rules. He/she has one set of rules and not the confusion of why it is OK to do things at our place but not at he sitters.

The only way you have your time is to book something, and that is only if you have a spouse who is caring enough to say you need a break, take your night, fortunately for me mine is and I get out once a week to do something for me, but I know other stay-at-home parents who don't get any "my time" at all. Sometimes you just feel that you are giving everything and not getting any respect or gratitude in return. Then you have working parents who would like for you to care for their child because you are at home anyway, but they don't want to pay anything for it. Do they forget or do they even know what you sacrifice to be there for your child? They want to scrimp on the most valuable thing in their lives, and the most trying thing.

But what you don't sacrifice are the rewards you get when you see everything your child accomplishes. The look on their face when whatever they want and need they know they can count on you being there. The feeling I have when I think of how when I am staying at home and have frustrated moments and then I see other working moms who loose their patience with their kids, just thinking that they spend only 3-4 hours a day with their kids and they have to prepare their dinner, get their baths, and then still be frustrated with their kids. There doesn't seem to be too much quality time there. This is when you are reminded that it is not really a sacrifice, but a quality of life for you and your child, who hopefully will be healthy, and confident which is crucial to society.

Sometimes we may think maybe we should go back to work and if I were totally self involved I would, but then I think of my child and being a good, dependable parent is more important to me so I stay home, and hopefully my sacrifices will be worth it. If only we could get Stay-at-home parents the respect that they deserve, too bad we cannot get people to have a different outlook on stay at home parents, after all we are not all brainless creatures.

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