Women who do that are contributing too much actually! I think that the toughest job in the world is taking care of kids, because we are talking about people here, people who will eventually become the leaders, workers and parents in the future.

This is something each couple has to decide for themselves. There are a multitude of things to consider: what's best for the children, whether one or two incomes are needed to maintain an acceptable lifestyle, whether the strain on either of you would be too much, etc.

it's a fulltime job for some women. if it's fulfilling to them, i've no problem with it.

Women who stay home and take care of the children and the home have a full time job and are contributing. It's called Domestic Engineering and it's a job worth more than $10 an hour. It's a non stop job 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

work until you are six months pregnant. then retire until all your kids are over eighteen. then go find another job.

I'm not really sure about this...I plan on having a career working with horses. Training, giving lessons, etc. I want kids someday, but...How will children fit into that lifestyle? I guess it depends on what my husband does for a living...Can we sustain ourselves on his income alone? Will I be okay with not doing what I love so that I can stay home with the kids? Will I be okay with basically wasting four years of college education just to stay at home and be a housewife? I don't know...Thank you for asking this question. These are things I really need to think about.

To each their own...but personally I want to be a stay at home mom. With all the crazy stuff that goes on in the world these days it's not safe to hire a daycare or a babysitter anymore, in my opinion. Besides, I don't like the idea of someone else raising my children. I just don't think it's right.

With the cost of daycare, it isn't very difficult to reach a point that staying home with the kids just makes sense. If most of your paycheck is used to pay for daycare I think it would be better to stay home and raise the kids. This is for both Mom and Dad it might make more sense for Mom to work and dad to stay home. Some people might need to have a job outside the home to prevent parenting burn out. IMHO

Only the bills truly say.

I think it can be a full time 24/7 hard job ....

If I had a choice, I would rather be a stay at home mom. I think if you have kids that aren't in school you should stay with them as long as possible (if possible).

I think it's wonderful if someone is able to do this, be it a woman or a man. It's a very tough job to be a stay home parent, and unfortunately our society has made this the exception rather than the rule.

Being a housewife is said to be the most difficult job in the world! It's 24/7/365, and for VERY little pay (the occasional dress, night out, maybe some flowers, etc.) While it doesn't bring in any money, it does release the man (or woman, if it's the other way around) to work and not worry a bit about the home - that's the home-person's job. Of course, there are some homebodies that CANNOT do a lot of the work at home (like me). I do what I can from a wheelchair and very little standing, such as wash dishes (when she leaves them), change the cat litter, gather up the trash, and a few other things. DAMN I'm lucky to have her! ;-)

There is plenty of work to be done at home. Raising children into fine adults not contributing something? Not taking good care of a home and supporting the other members is a great contribution. I used to stay home to take care of the ranch, raise food from our garden and animals, train horses, care for the home, cook for the family, make things, build things, do things all day long. I learned new things at home and there isn't much I can't turn my hand to. I've now built a log home with my husband, just the two of us, and all because I became a capable wife who works hard to make a good home for our family.

Considering being a mother is the hardest job on the planet I'd say she doesn't need a job outside of the home if it's possible. When you look at how the work load is divided between stay at home mothers and fathers who work outside of the home what you notice is a sever disproportion of the labor. The father's job stops when he leaves and most expect to not have to do anything at home. While a mother is expected to keep going 24/7/365. And it's worse if she works outside the home. Trust me you're doing more then enough when you're a stay at home mom.

I wouldnt feel like i was contributing enough. Thats why when i have a kid (if it can be done) stay home the first year and go back to work. I use to take care of my little brother and the household chores and it was ingrained it wasnt enough and plus i wouldnt like sitting on my ass till the kid started school. I like working believe it or not.

i think its cool for some if they could do that but for me personally i think i would at least have to have a part time job i mean never being out of the house same old routine every day i would'nt be able to handle it i need some where to go sometimes

Try it for awhile and you'll know you are definitely contributing. Before long you might feel somebody else may need to contribute more. It's the toughest job in the world but well worth it.

DEEP BREATH....Ok this is from a stay at home mom and daycare provider. There is no "just" about it. My job is the equivilent to two full time jobs or more. If you were to pay me a salary of just being a stay at home mom then you would "just" be forking over around $280,000.00. I contribute way beyond what I think is necessary. Maybe some day you can come take my place and see what us SHM "just" do. It is not like we sit on our butts watching tv all day. IF we get a break it doesn't last long. It doesn't end when your spouse gets home either because he has worked all day too, so he wants to rest also. If you do not think this is a huge responsibility and that as a parent you don't do anything then you are not ready to have a child...Sorry, but if you can't see the "job" in parenting then you should take a field trip to a home with children in it....(exhale)

Just staying at home to take care of the house and children? My mother raised six children. That included cooking, cleaning, laundry, homework help, dressing, disciplining, transport, school activities, sports teams, clubs, sleepovers, parties and about 1,000 other duties. She was the busiest woman I've ever seen, even when kids pitched in. I congratulate any woman who can tackle this job. And why shouldn't children have the benefit of at least one parent being present?

I have opinions but it's a personal choice. I guess what kind of frosts me is women (well, it's usually women) who get advanced degrees then don't use them. I have a female friend who went to med school, finished a surgery residency, then got an MBA from a crappy school and is "office manager" for her husband's small medical practice.

hubby says 'she has the harder job.'

I think it depends on the man and woman. they may agree that the woman needs to stay home, or may need to work. The same can go for the man, he can either stay home or work. Both sides must contribute to this decision, otherwise neither will be satisfied.

I think if you are in a situation where it is POSSIBLE for you to stay home and be able to raise your kids, and still be ok on the financial end, That is awesome! Definitely would be my choice if I could. On the other hand, I also see nothing wrong with Momma CHOOSING to go to work as long as her child goes to a safe place while she works. (IE, not going some lady who does day care from her house and sits the kids in front of a TV and smokes in the next room...but she's cheap)

I work full time - that's my choice. But I equally respect people who choose to stay at home and take care of house and children. There's no right or wrong answer here, and neither working at a job or working at building a home is superior. They're equally as hard. You make your choices and, especially if you're a woman, you live with the guilt. Cos boy, are us women good at feeling guilty. Well I am, anyway - shouldn't speak for all, should I?!

My opinion, is that a woman, who "just" stays at home, to raise children and maintain the house, is working 3 times as hard as someone in the workforce, her job never ends, she doesnt get lunch breaks, she doesnt get to clock out at five, she doesnt get vacations, appreciation, rewards or bonuses, I could go on forever. Then lets talk about what she should get paid per hour to do her work. The job titles that best matched a mom's definition of her work are (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, laundry machine operator, computer operator, psychologist, facilities manager, van driver, chief executive officer and janitor. Based on a survey of more than 18,000 mothers, Salary.com determined that the time mothers spend performing 10 typical job functions would equate to an annual salary of $116,805 for a stay-at-home mom. Working moms ‘at-home’ salary is $68,405 in 2008; this is in addition to the salary they earn in the workplace. Now you can use the Mom Salary Wizard to create their own "mom paycheck". The tool allows moms and their families to price the "mom job", based on location and mom's personal hours worked in each of the 10 roles. Users can create a hypothetical mom paycheck and mom pay stub. http://swz.salary.com/momsalarywizard/htmls/mswl_momcenter.html

I actually think women who do that are contributing the MOST to the family's well-being. Unfortunately, being a homemaker is now an underrated profession.

im a stay at home mum and i have brought up four of my own plus six of my friends so they could work. a stay at home mums job is 24/7 no days off or paid holidays, or sick leave. staying at home bringing up children is the hardest job in the world and deserves far more respect than is given.

It is hard for people in not in the situation to look at a stay at home mother and think that they work hard. It is a fact that most work extremely hard to keep things running. Although I do things faster than my wife with a little less delicacy, she has a drive that keeps her going when I just want to lay down and go to sleep. I am in the navy and have 12-14 hour shifts for 15 days out of the month switching shifts from nights to days every month. When I give my wife a break sometimes I just can't do it and end up passing out. Luckily, most of the time, my son gets bored and crawls into bed with me and she still gets her break. I am proud of my wife and love her for keeping our household strong, clean, and always running. All in all, being a guy I don't give my wife enough credit or point out the things I do notice so instead of thinking you don't contribute enough, you will feel like my wife does from time to time. Unappreciated. That's why my son and I get her flowers and give her days off whenever we can.

Being a stay at home mum for me was the most fulfilling job i have ever done. it is also the hardest.

I think staying at home and looking after the kids is probably the most difficult job at all...I am not a parent..but it strikes me as a 24/7 type of job.

Wow... My wife is more than welcome to stay home. As long as I'm making enough money, I'm happy with her doing that. It's hard taking care of kids, and MORE expensive than it's worth, having someone watch them, and who better to rely on watching them, than mommy.

I think every mom would like to stay home with their kids, maybe have a half day job just to stay in touch with the world or go to some network meetings, but I think its a full time job looking after the kids alone!

Obviously you've never had to take care of three screaming kids while doing the laundry and getting dinner ready! Heh!

I've done both and staying at home with kids is MUCH harder than working out of the home. Nothing can be more important than taking care of your kids.

Oh no, you'd be contributing more than enough. Housekeeping and raising kids can be quite thankless at times and is very demanding at others. I wish I could have spent more time at home with my kids and feel very guilty that I didn't. Unfortunately, I wasn't coping very well with being on my own with the kids and used to get panic attacks. It seemed as if all the other mothers were coping perfectly and I had postnatal depression instead and wasn't getting anything done. Somehow, I still managed to breastfeed both my girls for quite a long time. My older daughter now has a 4 month old baby girl who is fully breastfed and they are very closely bonded. Yet there are already people saying to me when is she going back to work? I'm really hoping she can stay at home with bubby as long as she possibly can and I think they would be quite upset being away from each other for very long. She is considering some part time work next year but is not really sure. It seems that women are pressured into going back to work when their babies are still quite tiny.

I stayed at home for the first 2 years of my sons life. I am now back working part time but still do the majority round the house and for my son. I felt it was best for my child and I am so glad I did get to spend that time with him however after working all my life before hand I did feel I was not doing my bit, but my hubby to be reassured me most of the time that what I was providing was invaluable which is always nice to hear. I would not change a thing only that I wish i'd stayed home longer! x

There is nothing more important then to raise your own children if you can....my first three I was able to do that...kids are put in with other children who have had not the best parenting and catch on real well to not so nice things...no one can raise your children like you can with your morals and heart...many people would prefer to have materials goods instead of being home....no one gives up anything to raise their own children and then wonder what went wrong with their kids....not everyone has the ability to downsize their lives...with my last one I was a single parent and only income...luckily the other children were older to help instill what was instilled with them....

Personally............If I was your husband and though I'm at work, I would'nt feel like I'm contributing enough compared to your full time job of raising our kids at home. You would get my full support and help out as much as I could when I come home. If you did'nt feel like you were contributing then we would talk about preschool or daycare.........

There's nothing more important than nurturing and raising kids and making a house a real home. Modern society has been neglecting/denying this for 40 years and has been wreaping the consequences increasingly ever since. But back in the day when this was the norm for wives and mothers, they didn't just "stay home" - they were a vast army of totally free and independent volunteers, charity organizers and managers, and ammateur independent social workers and care-givers. And being independent, they didn't have to be automatons, slavishly and impersonally implementing the inane policies of "professional" bureaucrats, crafted and corrupted by comittees of politicians and special interest lobbyists.

Most women I work with that have children would love to stay home and raise them rather than drop them off at daycare to leave with strangers. I applaud women who chose to devote their time to their child rather than to a career. On the other hand, I think if a woman wants to work, there is nothing wrong with that either. Matter of preference here, no right or wrong.

I was a stay home mom for 2 yrs. I HATED it. I was so bored and felt useless, and i knew i was falling behind in my career field due to scientific advancement. Its not for everyone, but my hubby wanted that, so i did it for as long as i could tolerate.

Personally, I wouldn't want to do it, but staying home with children is still valuable. People just don't think it is because SAHM's don't directly contribute to the household income. But SAHM's do increase household savings, because there's no need for the parents to pay for daycare while they're both at work. Also, SAHM's usually do the housework, but again, people don't value it because it's not paid labor. However, it takes a lot of time and effort to maintain a clean house, so housewives should be appreciated for what they do. Having a breadwinning partner and a stay at home partner is just one way of dividing the labor of maintaining a household (though I would argue that it's a less viable lifestyle as prices rise).

A woman can be excellent at work and go as far as man can. But not every woman can tackle the job of being a homemaker. Women who take care of children and house...it IS work. In fact, its a 24 hour job with her going to bed, still lying awake thinking of things she has yet to do!

I love the question.... I don't see why a woman shouldn't be a homemaker...what makes her less than a woman who has a job?? whether a woman wants to work or be at home is her personal choise...and its not an easy job to run a home and take care of the kids...so even a home maker deserves to be respected!

My wife is a stay at home mom because that is what she chooses. She actually works harder than I do at my job. I let her know how much I appreciate what she does, because it is important. Neither of us like the thought of our kids growing up in day care all day being cared for by someone we really don't know. I feel that my wife contributes more than enough.