I'm a stay-at-home-mom [View all]

[CoffeeCat]

I'm a stay-at-home mom and I live in a middle-upper/middle class suburb. While there there are many SAHMs around here, all I can say is that there are quite a few SAHMs who aren't home a great deal. They hire babysitters and are out getting mani/pedis and shopping for strappy sandals. Their kids are often watched by nannies, and their homes are cleaned by housekeepers.

I'm sure this is politically incorrect to say these things--but there are two kinds of SAHMs and anyone inside these circles knows this. The first group--actually stays home with their children; the second group doesn't schlep to her office job every day--because she doesn't need a job as the family is wealthy. These women really aren't SAHMs.

True, they don't work outside the home. Also true, that they have kids. However, they aren't working at home all day. They have people to do that for them. Having a nanny, a housekeeper, a gardener and someone to run your kids to
all of their activities--isn't YOU being AT HOME.

I have seen this "outsourcing" happen with people who make low six-figure incomes. So, please don't tell me that
someone who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars isn't doing the same. Is someone actually going to try to score
political points by suggesting that Ann Romney made chicken nuggets for lunch, watched Barney with her kids and
was home with them full time during most days changing diapers and spraying Shout on grape-juice stains?

I don't begrudge stay-at-home moms who choose to outsource. But please, let's not call yourself "stay-at-home moms" just because you have kids and you don't work outside the home. If you aren't spending the majority of your day hours taking care of the kids--then you're not really a "stay-at-home-mom".

If Ann Romney did spend most of her time at home, then I'm sorry for mischaracterizing her life. However, if I'm right--she needs to quit calling herself a stay-at-home mom for political gain and feigning outrage because Rosen told the truth about Ann never working a day in her life.

Stay-at-home moms work very hard, and so do moms who work outside of the home. The point of this entire
debate is that Ann Romney is in NEITHER of those categories and she should quit pretending that she is--for political
purposes.