Did your mother work outside the home?

[catherine]

I have both worked and been a SAHM during my kids' childhoods. Glad for both experiences, but absolutely TREASURE the time I had at home with my son before he died - and realized from that the value of the time I had with the other kids. In all honesty, more often than not, I felt being a SAHM was harder than going out to a job. Just my opinion and experiences.

Being a SAHM is definitely harder than going out to a job, at least in my experience. I, like you, spent time at home as well as at work during their growing-up years. The hardest job of all was the family day care I ran from my home. My own two preschoolers plus three others. All by myself. That was the hardest job I ever had. My career in market research, working many 60-70 hour weeks catering to clients and flying all over the globe was a cakewalk compared to that.

[happystuff]

Being a SAHM is definitely harder than going out to a job, at least in my experience. I, like you, spent time at home as well as at work during their growing-up years. The hardest job of all was the family day care I ran from my home. My own two preschoolers plus three others. All by myself. That was the hardest job I ever had. My career in market research, working many 60-70 hour weeks catering to clients and flying all over the globe was a cakewalk compared to that.

Watching more than just your own child/ren is hard! I "babysat" for one other child at one point when my youngest was still pre-school age. It was nice but more work than one realizes. Can't imagine doing more like you did.

[ToomuchStuff]

My mother was working for an eye surgeon and eventually became his surgical nurse. My grandmother quit work, to take care of her dying husband and mother, while putting her sister in a nursing home. She ended up staying out of work (close to retirement), to raise us. Most of the mothers I knew, worked, although one friends mom, seemed to not work as much as she worked. (in construction with drug issues, husband was an u/c officer, who was pulled off when an issue with mother).