by Rhianna Suttie-Gunson

Created on: February 28, 2008   Last Updated: September 27, 2008

Being a mother brings enough joy in it's self. Being a stay at home mother is like the icing on the cake. Sure it is demanding at times and the monetary pay is low, but the joy it creates lasts a life time.

Being pregnant for nine months feels like an eternity but from the moment your bundle of joy is born time begins to race away like there is no tomorrow. Before you know it they are crawling, walking and then talking and you are left wondering how time has passed so quickly.

Having the ability to stay at home with your children is the greatest gift a parent can be given. Though it may not slow down time any it gives you the opportunity to be there for all those firsts. As a stay at home mother I have been able to add so many extra experiences to motherhood that my working mother counterparts miss out on.

When my eldest child was learning how to crawl I was able to spend all day wiggling about on the floor with her. I am sure we were the best commando crawlers in the district. By the time my second child was at this stage it was a real family affair and the joy I got crawling about and laughing with my girls is something that can bring me out of the deepest sadness.

Had I not been a stay at home mom I may not have had the opportunity to share this joyful experience with my children. Instead some well meaning and caring stand in mother (day care professional) would be helping my child develop.

Likewise, recalling the day they took their first steps, said their first sentence or caught their first ball, evokes feeling of joy that are indescribable by words. Being told about these milestones by a third party is just not the same.

There are of course many mothers that elect to return to work after the baby's first birthday. In their mind perhaps they feel that most of the 'firsts' are over now and it is fine to hand the care (and joy) over to someone else.

What they may not realize is that everyday can have a first which can bring a mother joy. Little precious moments of time that creates a lifetime of memories. This is the joy that a stay at home mom gets all the time. For example a two year can learn about 9 new words a day. A stay at home mom gets to hear those new words straight from her child. The working mom is only told about it at the end of a long day if the carer remembers.

As a stay-at-home mother I am able to attend every school assembly. I can help out in the canteen or class room when needed. I have time to get to know the teachers at school and help enhance my child's learning experience. All of which bring me great joy.

Not only that I get to know my children's friends and really be a part of their lives. Sure a working mother is still able to do these things but the time I have available for such activities is far greater.

In fact the entire structure of a stay-at-home mother's day is generally geared to fun and enjoyment. A mixture of play dates, play groups and learning through play, how could it not be enjoyable?

Where the working mother rushes to get out the house by eight in the morning the stay-at-home mother can still be padding round the kitchen in her pj's sipping coffee and watching her child spread cereal all over the place. A joy no job could bring.

I am sure that I am only so aware of the joy children bring because I see it so often. Almost every hour of the day there is a smile or an expression, an attempt try something new. Each moment with your child is worth more than all the gold in the world and as a stay-at-home mother not a moment is wasted.

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