Some moms decide to stay at home with the children while still finding a way to supplement the income, or even to completely support the family. A Facebook fan explained the situation the best:
I think its not a clear cut division: stay-at-home or work-all-day. I know quite a few mothers (myself included) who need to work and made a point to take part time jobs so they can spend most of the day with their kids. It is often much harder to find jobs where you can be home to pick up your kids from preschool at 1 pm. So, yes, I worked but I spent most of my time and energy raising my little kids. I also know a mother who works night shifts and spends her days with her kids. Also I know mothers who made a home-office so they can work from home. So there are really many different constellations of combining working and parenting.
There are a few ways to do both:
- Working part time jobs around the children's schedule (while they're at school, or evenings) Working a salaried job from home. Starting a business, freelance work from home.
A good few people in this category were single moms, and so had no choice but to do it all. I fall somewhere into this middle category too (I blog here, make jewelry. and I'm a graphic designer as well), though I am not a single mom. I choose to stay at home with my baby for various reasons.
The good: This option seems to be the best of both worlds. You get to spend time with the children. You still have supplemental income. This incorporates MANY of the advantages of both staying at home and working. About the small financial sacrifice?
A Facebook fan says:
I asked each of my kids individually if they wanted me back to working full time so they could have new items, etc. all 3 of them made my heart sing when they said they would rather have me home.
Most children like to have their parents at home. This seems like the perfect compromise, and some, especially those who would not have high paying professional jobs, seem to be even better off than they'd be working full time!
In this category, you'll also find many mom entrepreneurs. Some will be wildly successful and have sustainable income that requires little input. Some sell their businesses later on, and have what to send large families to college with.
The challenges: There's really no such thing as having it all every situation in life will present different struggles. The most compelling challenge with trying to do it all, is the time constraint. You'll need to maintain things both at home and in your business. There's also a limit to energy levels, especially if you have a toddler. Being a mom is a full time job; trying to balance another can be overwhelming. A mom who works full time from home shared:
Its kind of the best of both worlds but it is also very hard to balance both at the same time. But I get to be home with my baby and was home with my 3rd baby until he was 2 1/2. So in that way its awesome but it can be very difficult to get work done while taking care of a baby. So I guess there is no perfect way but this way is pretty close!
You still have some of the challenges of each category as well. Working at home does not necessarily provide a social life. You still may need to hire more babysitters and do less on your own. I have a hard time keeping up with dinners, or even taking my baby out because of time and energy limits.
For moms who work at home, it is also very difficult to keep to a schedule. Some babies have different schedules every day, and even those that are better will have off days. The work is often double, although the long term goals are double as well.
When my son was a baby I was home. When he was a child, I worked for my father so I could be there for my son. I was at every school function and was able to go on school trips like stay ay home moms. The sacrifice was money. I only worked part time. I wasn't easy, but it was the right decision. That little boy turned out to be a wonderful man.
There can also be the lack of income security from those that freelance or have their own businesses. There are ups and downs, and it's harder to budget. Also, working part time is obviously going to give you a part time salary.
