Sacrifices For Children

Sacrifices for Children: Is it necessary that they have a stay at home parent

It used to be, that the wife was the designated house maker, and the husband would go work to work the day shift and make all the money. The wife would then take care of the kids and raise them and look after them while the father was away. Since then many things have changed. Women can get jobs easier now and make just as much or more money than men, so the problem arises what to do with the children while the parents are out. There are some fathers who stay at home and look after them even though this is not typical. Some parents ship their kids off to daycare, and leave the responsibility to some one else. Then some parents go to the extent of home schooling their kids. Some where in between these extremes there has to be a prosperous medium.

"Of the 41.8 million children under 15 who lived with two parents last year, more than 25% had mothers who did not work and stayed home, according to a Census Bureau report," Genaro Armas writes. This is an increase of stay at home parents which maybe because of the economic boom. Many people are wondering why you would give up a job, and economic security just to raise your kids. What most don't realize is that you are taking on another job when you take care if your kids. The Census Bureau also reported that 55% of women who gave birth between July 1999 and July 2000 returned to the labor force within a year of having their babies. This means that most mothers do not end up at home like old times. They are choosing there own economic safety over there child's well being. They still have time with there children just while they are at work they just like to forget where there children are.

One of the issues that parents are dealing with is money. They believe that they can't have a stay at home parent, because they wouldn't be able to live off of one parent's salary. However what many people don't know that the value of a stay a home parent is a lot more than one would imagine. According to Barbara Sefton, "The stay-at-home mother is on duty an average of 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. She provides a service with a market value of approximately $36,000 annually." This is more than some individual salaries. Most do not realize how much work a stay a stay at home mom does, from cooking, shopping, driving kids, watching kids, laundry, cleaning and many other duties. From those thoughts it makes more sense in that you would save much more money with a stay at home parent.

When both parents work then they have to find a place for the children to be while they are away. Day care can be an uncertain place to send your kids while you are not around to supervise them. Do you really trust some one else's judgment when it comes to your kids. Plus all of the germs they will come in contact, will increase their chances of getting sick. What about all the other kids there, and what your kids will learn from them. Most would agree that day care should be only used at a last resort, only when other relatives are to busy to help out. Staying home with your children would increase your bond with them instead of widening it. You could also keep a better eye on them than that of someone who has too look after many children. There are some benefits to day care. The emotional and social skill that children develop while being around others is a necessity. As C.M states, "Kids cared for by hired help do indeed develop secure attachments to their caregivers, which is good--the kids will be less likely to have emotional or behavioral problems, be more sociable, develop better relationships with peers and be more motivated to try new things." Sending your kids to summer camps can be very beneficial to them. So if during the school year if they don't go to day care to play with others, during the summer have them participate in a small camp. That way they can build there social skills, and still be under your supervision most of the time.

It used to be that a homemaker would be the wife. However more men are becoming a stay at home dads. According to Census data, the number of children living with stay-at-home dads has jumped 70 percent since 1990 to more than 2 million. Many fathers enjoy staying home and helping there kids and tending to the house. Most families' agree that some one should stay home and watch the kids, which will in turn remove stress from the parent who goes to work. Joy Kennon writes "The biggest advantage of this arrangement is that I can go to work with a stress-free mind" she says. "I can go to work and know that the girls are taken care of and the house is taken care of and I never have to worry about it." It seems to be that it doesn't mater which parent that stays home; it will produce