Stay at home moms, we all know one or you might be one. Earlier this year a survey was conducted by survey.com about the value of what a mother’s work would be worth by tracking the various jobs moms perform day to day. The median annual salary for stay at home moms in 2019 climbed up $15,620.00 (increasing 9.6% from 2018) making the total $178,201.00 per year for a stay at home mom.
Mothering is being considered a hybrid role that includes careers like academic advisor, laundry manager, senior janitor, staff nurse, and photographer. Sounds about right. The combination of roles equals an annual salary of $178,201.00! If only that salary could be a reality, right? It’s clear that SAHMs do an indispensable job. Deep down all stay-at-home moms know how important the job of being a mom is, even if it’s often thankless. It helps to know that we’re killing it when it comes to what kind of money we could making even if it will never be a reality.
In addition to stay-at-home-moms, stay-at-home-dads are on the rise also! More dads are staying home to care for their kids. The number of fathers who are stay-at-home dads has risen from 4% in 1989 to 7% in 2016 according to a study conducted by Pew Research Center. As a result, dads made up 17% of all stay-at-home parents in 2016, up from 10% in 1989. Woohoo go Dads! Among Millennials (those ages 20 to 35 in 2016), 6% of dads were at home with their kids while mom was in the office working. 3% of Gen X dads were at home with their kids when they were the same age.
Among stay-at-home dads, it’s becoming more common to be home specifically to care for your family. In 2016, 24% of stay-at-home dads reported that this was the main reason they were staying home. This number is up from just 4% in 1989. One in 5 United States moms and dads are stay at home parents.
Being a stay at home parent offers many pros and cons.
You’re always there for your children
- Pro: You will always be there when your child needs you.
- Con: Always being there can sometimes make you feel like you’re trapped. You may love being a stay-at-home parent, but there will be times when you will want some me time.
- Balance Tip: Your mental and physical health depends on getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising, and just plain relaxing. Try to find a good balance for yourself and your family.
You’re never alone
- Pro: You’ll have more control over your family’s routine as a stay-at-home parent. You won’t have to worry about getting called in early to work or having to stay late to finish your work tasks. Your routine will tend to be the same from week to week as a stay-at-home parent.
- Con: Routine can often get boring fast. Your days will be planned out so well that you can easily feel like you’re in a rut.
- Balance Tip: You and your children can benefit by adding variety, such as visits to parks, museums, splash pads (in the summer), or spending time with nearby relatives or friends. If you don’t know where you can fit it in, look into streamlining your schedule.
You have a more consistent routine
- Pro: Your children are with you every hour of the day. You’re there for everything—first steps, first words, first smile, etc.
- Con: You never get a moment to yourself till your kiddos go to bed—you’re lucky if you can even escape to the bathroom alone.
- Balance Tip: Even with your kids, you need to set some personal boundaries. It is okay to establish limits and let them know what they are.
You experience different stress levels
- Pro: If you love every aspect of parenting your child and can even smile on the inside when your toddler is doing something they shouldn’t be. Your stress levels will probably be much lower than if you were having to raise your family while working outside the home.
- Con: Kids can be more than a handful with whining, coloring your walls, fighting, and misbehavior.
- Balance Tip: When you are feeling stressed, use stress-management practices such as breathing exercises, quiet time, or meditation. You can also teach these to your children so they learn to manage their stress levels at a young age. This will help them when they reach an age where stress starts to factor into their lives.
Stay at home parents benefit older kids also, not just the younger ones. Recently a study found that the benefits of having a parent staying home extended beyond the early years of a child’s life. During the study, the educational performance of 68,000 children was measured. They found an increase in school performance all the way to high school-aged children. The biggest educational impact in their research was found on children ages 6-7. According to Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends, 60 percent of Americans say a child is better off with at least one stay at home parent in the home. 35 percent said kids are just as well off with both parents working outside the home.
I am proud to be able to work for a company such as KarmaHub which offers me the stability of a career in a field I love. Working for KarmaHub has given myself and my husband the opportunity to see all our children’s firsts, go to school events, more family vacations, and we now spend more time as a family on a daily basis while working from the comfort of our own home.
At KarmaHub we offer everyone the opportunity to be able to work from home with flexibility so you don’t miss out on all the firsts or school events. A lot of companies don’t allow for children to be in the same room while they’re working but here at KarmaHub your children are allowed to be sitting right next to you as you’re doing your daily work. KarmaHub is expanding rapidly, helping stay at home parents be able to provide for their family while working in the comfort of their own home. We are now offering positions in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
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