When I am spending time at the park with my kids as they play there are often large groups of mothers with their children, and periodically I get to hear their complaints, and struggles with being a stay-at-home mom. I would like to address a few of them. And let me state upfront this is not meant to slam anyone, but just observations I have made.
One of the biggest complaints I hear is,”I do not have enough time for myself.” What this complaint often boils down to is poor time management. When managing time one must set it up like a bank account and do debits, credits, and decide what is important. Many mom’s look to load their children up with activities to get them out of the house so they have more time. Of course there are mother’s who do this for their child’s social skills, and educational benefit, but I am just going by what I hear off the tongue. What the mom’s thought would be a break, ends up being a daily routine of running from one activity to another. And guess what? Yep! You guessed it. They have no time for the other household duties. The biggest one being a hot healthy meal for their kids. What happens then is the trip to the local fast food joint for some processed slop. Childhood Obesity is a problem in American? No! Really?
Another complaint that I often hear is,”My husband does not spend enough time with the kids.” I see that in many father’s, but often dad’s are locked into rigid employment schedules that do not allow them the time to get away, or the personal finances are so over-stretched he has no choice. By the time father’s have time, most want to just unwind on the golf course, fishing, etc. Unfortunately, many men do not enjoy unwinding with their children after a hard stressful day. And throughout history mom’s have had the child rearing responsibilities. It really wasn’t until the feminist movement came along that some mom’s said,”Hey, what am I doing at home with kids?” Personally, I find that totally weird, but that is my opinion.
The strangest complaint to me is,”My husband does not make time for me.” Men love woman! We are loaded with testosterone. When a man is losing interest the number one area for a woman to look is within herself. What is the biggest turn off for a man? Nagging! Did you do this? Did you do that? Why are you never……? What’s wrong with you? You always do……” Etc, Etc! The Bible makes reference several times in Proverbs that it is better to live on top of the roof, in a desert, or to have a rainy day than listen to a nagging wife. It’s the worst thing ever for a man, and you can look like Ms. American ladies, but if you’re a nag,”Forget it!” Keep in mind the man you are nagging is busting his derriere for you at work to provide all the necessities and more often your wants. Woman I know to be nags often could not earn, or supply what the husband does financially. So in regards to that, I say stay-at-home moms should be thankful for their husbands hard work while they are at home. When thanklessness and nagging exceed acceptable levels, we often see breakdowns in the family unit and divorce. Sadly, these stay-at-home moms, and their children, end up worse off financially.
With these observations, I can conclude there is too much,”What about me?”, poor time management, and thanklessness for one of the greatest jobs on Earth. Stay-At-Home moms be thankful for your role because you are lucky beyond measure, have the most important job, and are truly blessed.
Albert Moyer, Jr. 