Stay-at-home mother's work worth $138,095 a year

[Herman Munster]

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2007-05-02T190438Z_01_N02360535_RTRUKOC_0_US-WORK-MOTHERS.xml&src=rss&rpc=22

NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the typical stay-at-home mother in the United States were paid for her work as a housekeeper, cook and psychologist among other roles, she would earn $138,095 a year, according to research released on Wednesday.

This reflected a 3 percent raise from last year's $134,121, according to Salary.com Inc, Waltham, Massachusetts-based compensation experts.

The 10 jobs listed as comprising a mother's work were housekeeper, cook, day care center teacher, laundry machine operator, van driver, facilities manager, janitor, computer operator, chief executive officer and psychologist, it said.

The typical mother puts in a 92-hour work week, it said, working 40 hours at base pay and 52 hours overtime.

[peacebird]

1. ok - I'll stay home. Who do I contact with this decision so they can start paying me $10k a month?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

79. Uh, Wolfowitz?

But he may get more "under foot" in the near future.

[taught_me_patience]

2. Why does this bogus report keep coming back

every year? This is journalistic sensationalism at its worst.

[uppityperson]

4. What is bogus or sensationalist about it?

[taught_me_patience]

9. Pay is not determined by what you do

it is determined by supply and demand of the labor market willing to do the work. High demand jobs + low number of people qualified to do the work = high pay. If we examine the salaries of people who actually do a very similar job to stay-at-home moms (nannys, teachers, etc), we see that the pay is not nearly close to what the article claims. In fact, I'd probably venture to guess that the pay is closer to 1/4 what the article claims. The problem is, there is very little actual skill involved in being a stay-at-home mom. Almost 50% of the population is able to do the job! This "study" was performed by salary.com... probably to try to get traffic to their website.

[Warren DeMontague]

12. "very little actual skill involved"

I'm gonna go out on a limb, here, and say you've never done it.

[taught_me_patience]

17. you misunderstood the meaning of that quote

as it pertains to labor and wages. Skill=actual training required to perform a specific job. Chemical Engineers need tremendous training and skill to perform their jobs. Other professions don't require nearly as much.

[Warren DeMontague]

27. All I'd say on the matter is that it's a damn sight harder than it looks.

Beyond that, I'm really not sure why this particular story bugs you so much. I don't think there's any danger of stay-at-home parents actually pulling down $140,000 a year for what they do any time soon.

[zanne]

60. I think you should try it for a weekend.

Then come back and tell us how much these women should be paid. Many of these same women have advanced college degrees, by the way.

[LostinVA]

82. oh brother

[EFerrari]

13. Nannys and teachers do not do the job of stay at home moms.

I've been both. And my workload as a teacher didn't begin to approach what a stay at home mom does.

Have you ever stayed at home? Because given your assessment of the skill level needed, I doubt it.

LOL

:rofl:

[Clark2008]

72. Amen.

And, as far as "marketable skills," I found that, after having no luck re-entering the job market with the big white space in my resume, once I added work-at-home mom and listed all that I did: organization, budget management (that's a biggie since most people can't raise a family on one income any longer), social director, etc - I got offered A LOT more jobs.
the
BTW, I'll be a stay-at-home Mom for about 13 weeks in about two more weeks. Can I get the $34,996 I'll be owed for those 13 weeks? And I'm not even asking for hazard pay since I'll be at home all summer with an 8-year-old, formerly only child who'll be getting used to NOT being the only child anymore, AND a demanding newborn.

:hi:

[IanBean]

78. You're confusing skill and effort.

Who puts more effort in their job, a computer programer or a garbageman?

Who has more skill?

Who gets paid more?

[lukasahero]

85. Depends on what you consider effort

Effort is not just physical.

[Lars39]

14. "The problem is, there is very little actual skill involved in being a stay-at-home mom."

Says the male.

[taught_me_patience]

19. I guess you were unable to comprehend

that skills (as it relates to the labor market) = qualifications and requirements to perform the specific duty. The only qualification required to be a stay-at-home mom is being a mom!

[Lars39]

24. I'm able to comprehend invalidation when I read it.

I think you are seriously deluded in your ignorance of what it takes to run a household and raise children.

[taught_me_patience]

26. No doubt it is hard work and requires a lot of effort.

but hard work does not equal higher pay. If that were the case, then coal miners would be the highest paid people on earth. Once again... this is not an argument about hard work, or even about the importance of work. This is an argument about the supply and demand for labor. This simple fact is that the supply of labor for this job is incredibly high. Therefore... pay will be lower.

[Cant trust em]

29. sliding scale

The salary used in this study is clearly the salary for a good parent who does all of those jobs. The mothers that put their kids in the play pen while they watch Maury Povich are worth a lot less than Wondermom.

[Kber]

66. I think the point is that if you had to hire out the jobs that a stay at home

parent does, it would cost about $135,000.

Of course, you might decide you could scrub the toilet yourself rather than hire a cleaning service.

Personally, this stay at home mom could easily knock psychologist and probably CEO out of her job comparisons. But when I go back to "work", I expect that our household expenses will increase by 35 - 45K a year at a minimum, plus my husband is going to lose a fair amount of "free time" that he's going to have to use on things like picking up his dry cleaning, going to the bank, getting the kids ready for school and / or making dinner 2-3 days a week, and yes, scrubbing the toilets every once in a while.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

35. You don't seem to understand

Good stay at home parents are basically perpetually in a process of learning and honing their skills. There's no gene that tells a person how to properly deal with the myriad of situations that one must manage. It's not an instinctual position. Most don't take formal classed but they do read and research extensively to keep their skills up to the demand of the position. Others do manage to squeeze in time to take classes specific to their needs and still manage to juggle all the other requirements of the position.

It's highly skilled labor, and unlike most professions it requires that the person be skilled in a multitude of areas rather than one.

I know some remarkable stay at home parents that have dedicated their lives to learning how to cultivate the various skills and perform them with a grace that deserves respect.

My friend runs a temporary service. She finds that when these people reenter the work force many of them have excellent, organizational skills, PR skills, sales skills, accounting skills, computer skills, just to name a few I can recall off the top of my head.

[lukasahero]

57. Most companies these days

aren't looking for specific "skills". They are looking for people who are able to think, learn, adapt to changing situations and figure things out. That's why IT development is going cheap overseas but project management is staying right here and garnering the better salaries. Anyone can be taught how to do some specific task. The real need is for people who can deal with things as they are, not as they exist in a high school or college laboratory.

Sounds to me like you are "unable to comprehend" the changing job market.

[Beausoir]

49. Lars...let me just say to you.......after a few years of reading your posts...

You? Are good people.

You really are. You are always reasoned and sensible and I love to read what you have posted.

Thanks.

[Lars39]

63. Thank you, Beausoir !

:blush: Your kind words have made my day! :hi:

[nitestar41]

23. How many

Teachers cook, clean or do laundry? How many Nanny's have to clean a whole house, make dinner for the entire family, do everyone's laundry? Teacher's teach, and watch your child during school hours and Nanny's only care for the child a stay-at-home mom is expected to keep the whole house clean, the child clean, the entire family fed, teach the child basics like ABC&123 and right from wrong and keep them from seriously injuring themselves. And in todays world it's a full time job because CPS people tend to go a bit overboard and unrealisticlly expects you to keep your home and child in pristine condition at all times.

I am a Stay-At-Home Mother. I do not get time for myself, because even if my SO is home I am still on Full duty. I grab showers where I can, I am lucky to get a relaxing bath once a week after my DD goes to bed. I am the only one who does Laundry because my SO says he doesn't know how and if he washes the dishes I have to rewash them anyway. I am the only person who keeps the house from becoming so filthy that no one can live in it.
I love my DD, I love my job but I admit there are days when I wish I was working on something besides keeping the house clean at all times. I wish my DD was potty trained because then it'd be one less thing I'd have to do, but she's 13mths and that's unrealistic. I'll be starting all over again just as soon as she's almost old enough to start working on it. And I am happy for it, I have enjoyed seeing my DD smile, laugh, learn new words, crawl, stand up, try to walk and pet the animals.

Do I think that Stay-At-Home mom's deserve a lot of money for there job? Yes, after all how many 6 figure jobs entail more then sitting at a desk in front of a PC? But I think that I'd be happy with a little more acknowledgement from my SO, maybe a little more of him spending time with her on his days off, I think being a Stay-at-home mother is the most unappreciated and overworked job but I also think that most stay-at-home mothers wouldn't trade it for any amount of money in the world.

This is just an opinion but I have to ask have you ever done the Stay-At-Home parent thing? If not then how do you know what the job is worth?

[Cant trust em]

31. just to be fair

Most 6 figure jobs involve more than sitting in front of a screen. They usually (though not always) involve critical thinking, strategic planning, specialized training (ie college, MBA), long hours and a lot of other corporate buzzwords. I do agree however that it IS the MOST underappreciated job in the world. Moms are literally invaluable, in the sense of so valuable you can't put a value on it. It sounds to me like you need more help from your SO.

[nitestar41]

64. I agree...

That I need more help from my SO sometimes and that a lot of 6 figure jobs entail more than sitting in front of a PC screen. They do often require specialized training and there are some Stay-At-Homes that have the training, but I also think that in the area of critical thinking, strategic planning and long hours Stay-At-Home parents do those too. ;-)

:blush: I admit that I got into a bit of a rant last night and most likely over reacted a little. :blush: That doesn't mean I've changed my opinion I just didn't need to rant about it. ;-)

[taught_me_patience]

65. Its frustrating and stressful sometimes

and we can all agree that life takes hard work, no matter what you do.

[uppityperson]

32. If this woman were to hire a cook, a nanny, a counselor, this is what it would cost.

If she were to go to work at, say, chainstore and make $8/hour, that would bring home roughly $16,000/yr. If she were to then have to pay to have the meals cooked and delivered, hire a housekeeper to clean the house, before and afterschool nanny, weekly counseling sessions, chaffeur or taxi whenever anyone needed to go somewhere, laundry person, "secretary" to manage it all, telephone answering employee, etc (and yes, some of those jobs could be done by same person like housekeeper/laundry, secretary/nanny/driver) it would cost much more than she made. Don't forget having someone standing by for those late night calls from the kids. Maybe a live-in au pair?

"there is very little actual skill involved in being a stay-at-home mom." Sounds like you haven't had the experience yet. Or are you one of those people who measure worth only by how much someone else is willing to pay you for what you do?

[mudesi]

39. You neglect the opportunity cost of the partner

A stay at home mom allows the father (or lesbian partner) to go out and work while she raises the children and keeps the house in order.

The extra amount of income that flows in because of that represents the dollar value amount of the stay at home mom's services. Without her, the partner incurs an opportunity cost of less income because the partner would have to work fewer hours in order to do her duties.

[Zookeeper]

101. You're absolutely right, LS!

My husband's employers have always expected him to be available to work evenings, weekends and for up to two-week long business trips. There is no way he could have advanced in his career if I wasn't the parent taking responsibility for child care. Perhaps the OP doesn't have a clue about how many times a year three kids get sick and can't go to school. And how difficult it would be for them to participate in anything outside of school without someone to drive them.

Even a nanny gets time off and wouldn't be available like a stay-at-home parent.

No only would it cost a lot to hire out the jobs I do, but he would also end up losing a good chunk of change if he had to be available for all the little "emergencies."

:thumbsup:

[sandnsea]

47. THE failure of feminism

Not valuing mothering first.

No skill???

Tell your mother than on mother's day.

The reason mothering isn't paid is because men don't do the work. There's no reason farming became more valuable than wet nursing and sewing and cleaning - except men did the work.

[LostinVA]

80. I knew someone who post that garbage

Ugh. Sooner in the thread than I thought it would be.

[taught_me_patience]

99. I didn't post garbage.

In fact, I made absolutely no moral judgement on the "importance" or "value" of being a stay-at-home mom. I simply gave a very rational argument why the "study" was bogus (based solely on supply and demand for labor). Instead, it is you who made the judgement and jumped to the conclusion that lower pay = less importance (or less value). Once again... pay is NOT determined by how hard you work. It is NOT determined by how valuable your work is to society. Nor should it be...

[LostinVA]

102. "bogus" & "little actual skill..."

I'm not a stay-at-home mom. I'm not even a mom. But, I definitely defend the women who do stay home and work 24/7. They NEVER are able to clock out and leave work behind.

[taught_me_patience]

116. I've already cleared up what i meant

by say "little actual skill." I was talking about marketability in the job market! The report is "bogus" for the many reasons I've already outlined. Please explain why this report has any validity to it?

[Karenina]

8. The mere suggestion that the work women do

to perpetuate and preseve society has a monetary value is BOGUS to you? :freak:

[taught_me_patience]

11. Everything has a monetary value

Even so called things that are "priceless". Monetary value is simmply a measure of two things... supply and demand. Wages are a function of supply of labor and the demand for that labor.

[EFerrari]

15. Cool. So if all stay at home moms walk off the job right now,

what will happen to your model?

:rofl:

[hfojvt]

25. I agree with you that the report is bogus

but your faith in supply and demand is just as bogus. Monetary value is not nearly as clear cut as that. Wages are a function of what the employer decides to pay.

[JVS]

37. "Wages are a function of what the employer decides to pay"

That's what makes this report really bogus. Who are the people who hire out for all the services listed? The Rich. This skews the value estimate of the housewife's work to an astronomical level.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[zanne]

61. Libertarian? nt

[Karenina]

69. I call BULLSHIT.

[Name removed]

34. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Breeze54]

3. Where's my check?

:shrug:

[chelsea0011]

5. As a stay-at-home dad am I worth 7% more pay?

:sarcasm:

[joshcryer]

28. HAH. That made me laugh.

I know I shouldn't have, though.

[StarryNite]

6. A stay at home father

is probably worth 15% more. :sarcasm:

[monmouth]

7. And if mom is a homeschool teacher, well.....

[EFerrari]

10. Duh.

:)

[Cant trust em]

16. other duties as assigned.

Isn't that the HR terminology that would be put in there? I do loads of stuff that sit outside of the description of non-profit fundraiser. I think that the inferiority complex that stay at home moms get is interesting. Clearly the person who initiated this study felt like stay at home moms aren't getting their fair share of respect for what they do. My sister is an amazing parent, but I'm always getting grief from her when I complain about my day. If I talk about how I'm tired after work, she'll start in with some jibe about how at least I'm home now, not at work and how she's always working. It's interesting because there's nothing she'd rather do than what she does, but she wants to make sure that I know that staying at home with a two year old isn't all fun and games.

[RC Quake]

18. Oh Good Lord!

I work 50-60 hrs. per week and still do EVERYTHING that a stay at home mom does in 1/8 the time it takes her. Actually, I think I probably do more since we do not go out to eat. There is a meal on the table every single night of the week that is made with my 2 hands. And not mac & cheese. All of the housework is mine to do...no maid or nanny here. And I even do all of my own yardwork. I think I should get not only my paycheck from work, but another one for doing the "stay-at-home mom" job in my off time...and, why not kick in an extra for being a gardener also.

Christ...what next?

[Libby2]

21. How is your arm?

[halobeam]

83. well, no one can beat how great you are....

you win.

super duper person.

[Der Blaue Engel]

88. .

:rofl:

[Der Blaue Engel]

91. While I think a non-stay-at-home-mom's at-home work should also be valued

I'm astonished at your "1/8 the time" claim. You honestly believe that because you are only with your children for 1/8 of the time that a stay-at-home-mom is means you're doing exactly the same work in that time?

It's unbelievably draining to spend an entire day with a child. I am very thankful I don't have to do it.

And certainly there must be someone caring for your children during the day...the public school system perhaps? A daycare?

At any rate, I don't think you need to worry your head over this article. No one will ever compensate stay at home moms. Your advantage is safe.

[Ilsa]

20. Not my housework. Ain't no way. I am a pretty good cook and

nurse and funds manager for the family though ("No dear husband, you can't have that.")

[rug]

22. That's $18.44 an hour.

[Exiled in America]

48. Umm...what? It's considerably more than that.

I made 25$ an hour and my annual take home was 49,000.

Wait....since it is a 24-hour a day job did you factor based on that? heheheheee that would make sense! :)

[Generator]

30. Yeah except you can't PAY anyone to do the job

They don't want it. Especially with children under the age of five. That's why we are stuck doing it for bupkus.

Which I always wondered why the pre-school was a whole 3 hours a day-which they wanted you to "help" half the time and it was expensive BUT the pre-school teachers didn't get that money. They did work hard! But DAMN you try entertaining a three year old for longer than three hours straight. That's all they can hack at pre-school. Mommy gets a good 17 straight.

[vanlassie]

33. And Don't Forget Her Breastmilk!

That stuff is worth gold.

vanlassie

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

36. Oh These Silly Little Imaginative Study Things Always Crack Me Up! LOL

Doesn't take much objectivity to conclude how ridiculous these assertions are. But they are good for entertainment value.

[Karenina]

73. Ever been a stay-at-home dad???

Roger Cicero is ALSO wonderful for entertainment value.

Zieh die Schuh´aus!
bring den Müll raus!
paß aufs Kind auf!
und dann räum hier auf!
geh nicht spät aus!
nicht wieder bis um eins
Ich verstehe was du sagst
Aber nicht was du meinst

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

75. Mom, Dad, It's Completely Irrelevant. The Study Is Nothing Short Of Hilarious In Premise.

Every year they come out with this and every year it cracks me up the same. It is just so beyond absurd and silly in its premise and only exists for sheer entertainment value. I love when some people actually read it and take it seriously like "See! I told you that's how much I'd make!" :rofl:

Seriously, the study has so many flaws in its comparative logic you can't help but laugh at its conclusions. These things are just so silly.

[Karenina]

77. Self-invalidation. n/t

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

81. Please Tell Me You Aren't Really Trying To Convince People This Study Has Merit LOL

:rofl:

[Karenina]

84. What are YOU worth?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

87. In The Eyes Of My Children? Everything. But That's Still Irrelevant To This Discussion.

You seem to be intent on making this personal. There's nothing personal about it nor any reason for you to do so. The study is amazingly flawed in its premise and is wide open for mockery because of that. But I fail to see why that's something that irks you personally. You make it seem as if invalidating this study based on its ridiculous conclusions somehow also translates into a claim that stay at home PARENTS don't work hard. But that's logical hogwash. Stay at home parents absolutely have their hands full and invalidating this worthless study doesn't change that nor diminish it. Not sure if you can separate the two concepts or not.

[Karenina]

95. The handle fits.

MY third grade teacher gave us an Eselsbrücke for a word I've never since misspelled. "Separate" has "a rat" in it.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

103. My God What On Earth Are You Talking About.

Your post makes no sense whatsoever and I'm no longer even sure what exactly your problem is. You've refuted nothing and offered no logical argument or intellectual reasoning. In fact, you seem to be taking this personally for reasons yet to be ascertained. So what exactly is your gripe? Do you actually believe this ridiculous study holds any water whatsoever or even has a shred of realistic credibility? If so, I'd ask for you to explain why rather then reply with nonsensical personal putdowns. :hi:

[Karenina]

106. Männersachen.

See post #73. Bin ich sicher dass DU mich verstehen KANNST. :hi:

It's a dirty job but SOMEBODY has to do it! ;-)

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

108. Yeah, They're Called Parents. But That Still Has Nothing To Do With The Study.

Since you are choosing to not address the context whatsoever and instead insist on these nonsensical type replies, I see no real reason that this waste of time subthread needs to continue.

Ich kann verstehen, dass Sie nur mit einer Geldstrafe belegen. Aber Sie haben abgelehnt, den Kontext anzuerkennen, dass erforderlicher so bitte Halt meine Zeit verschwendend.

Goodnight. :hi:

[frustrated_lefty]

109. Is her first name Anna?

[Starlight]

38. So working parents are worth 270k? How about single working parents?

[hughee99]

41. Interesting...

I wonder how the numbers were calculated. Is it assumed that 10% of the day is spent as each of the 10 jobs, and then add together 1/10th of each professions average annual salary? Is it weighted for the amount of time a stay-at-home mother would spend (on average) doing each individual activity, since I imagine more time would be spent as a day care center teacher work than as a computer operator, for example.

Are "benefits" factored into the salary? If you're going to consider a stay-at-home mom as an employee, then benefits provided (housing, utilities, food, entertainment, "company car" etc...) would have to be factored in. Are they considered part of the 138K, or would that be on top of the any benefits?

[JanMichael]

42. Only the good ones which is an unmeasurable number.

That said being a stay at home mother is no walk in the park. It's HARD work and difficult work too.

It should be compensated but we don't have system that has that capability.

[bonito]

43. I agree, maybe 92 hrs but on call 24/7 and they give a shit!

Priceless! IMHO. I'm a male caregiver for almost 10 years and I know first hand what its all about!

[mnhtnbb]

44. add financial planner, investment counselor, tax preparer to my

list of duties and that would about sum it up.

[bonito]

46. Yea, crisis management

Don't remind me.:( LOL

[fortyfeetunder]

45. Holy moley, I am underpaid too!

On the flip side, if there was such as thing as a stay at home salary like this, the spouse and I would be fighting over who stays at home....

[illinoisprogressive]

50. right now I'm stay at home. My son broke his hip a few weeks ago

he is virtually helpless. needs someone with him to help and he is in his early 20s. So, I'm home with him. I'm not a nurse but I play one here (and on tv) lol.

[Beausoir]

51. Ouch! That is terrible! Healing vibes to your son.

How in the world did he break his hip? (As the mom to two boys, I am not really sure I want to hear the answer to this.)

Hope your son is not in too much discomfort. Jeeze.

[SoCalDem]

52. This could explain why, when the kids are grown, the 50-something Moms

often have their "jobs outsourced" by the "boss" who is eager to "hire" more nubile, hot & sexy younger "workers".




:sarcasm:

[JNelson6563]

54. Post of the day.

:toast:

[Clark2008]

93. Until the "boss" gets his rear kicked in court for breach of

contract.

;)

[B Calm]

53. damn.. How much am I worth? I run the weed eater, mow 6 acres,

till and plant the garden, trim trees, build a new shed, tear down the old shed, roofed the house, painted the house, cut- split and stack firewood, go to work everyday and drive an 18 wheeler in Chicago traffic, etc etc etc etc. oh.. and baby sit the grand kids...

[militaryspouse]

55. ..

to the poster who said her SO doesn't know how to do laundry, and other stuff. I'm almost certain it's a front. Many men will try to play clueless in the kitchen just to prevent you from asking for their assistance in the future. Took me awhile to figure that out LOL!

[B Calm]

71. My wife plays that ignorant stuff too. You'd think she would

know how to start a chainsaw.....

[AwakeAtLast]

107. Well, when she does,

LOOK OUT! ;)

[B Calm]

115. don't have to worry about that, she leaves all that man stuff

for me to do..

[Maru Kitteh]

119. Till you and your bad ass man stuff is sleeping..............

"So that'd be your husband in the woodchipper then?"

Ya.

"Such a beautiful day."


Ya.

[B Calm]

121. I've always wanted a wood chipper...

[Jonathan50]

56. Interesting that they left out "sexual service worker".

ie prostitute.

I was a stay at home dad for a couple of years when our daughter was quite young, it is way more than a full time job, it's more like being a slave to someone completely irrational and extremely petulant who never sleeps for more than three hours at a time.

Our daughter is currently a stay at home mom with three children under seven years old, she never stops or has a moment to herself until she falls into bed at night, exhausted and only to be awakened often in the middle of the night by one or other of the children.

While doing all of these chores she also did almost ninety percent of her husband's course work for an associate degree in business with an online college, a degree for which he "made" the honor roll, having a 3.8 GPA. The only course in which she didn't do the majority of the work is math.

By the way, to the poster above who said that fifty percent of the population is stay at home moms, the percentage is way less than that. Not all couples have children and not all mothers stay at home to care for those children. Not to mention that the proportion of unmarried women is higher in our nation than it has ever been before.

[zanne]

58. And sometimes women with partners work even harder!

Some women have to include their husbands as one of "the kids". It truly is a labor of love.

[SmokingJacket]

59. Yes, life is work.

What else is new?

[Chemical Bill]

62. Put this in as the next welfare overhaul.

We could pay for it by not invading anywhere.

Bill

[DrunkenMaster]

67. so let me get this straight

a teacher who spends their days with rooms full of children is worth (at best) about $40,000 while a stay at home mom should be worth more than a hundred grand?

Bullshite.

[zanne]

68. I was a teacher for six years.

And it was a long time ago, in the 80's. Things are only worse now, but I used to be able to say "See you tomorrow" to these kids. Taking care of kids 24/7 is not for sissies.

[Lance_Boyle]

70. Humph.

The job is offered and accepted at a base pay rate of $0/hr, and this wage is disclosed up front. People who disagree with that figure should not accept the job. Yay child-free!

[BuyingThyme]

74. Stay at home mothers are priceless, but cost a lot.

[grace0418]

76. So what should working moms be paid for working all day and then going home

at night to be the cook, house-cleaner, psychologist, nurse, etc. ?

Heck, I don't even have kids and I still do a lot more than my job title at work (art director, psychologist, messenger, production artist, buyer...) and then go home at night to cook, clean, shop, garden, pick up dry cleaning, take care of my animals, etc.

I know SAHMs have it tough (definitely not disputing that they are *severely* underappreciated and they work extremely hard) but this report seems kinda silly to me. Everybody does more work than their "job description" so this could logic could be applied to nearly everyone in the world. We should all be making a lot more money (except for Paris Hilton and maybe some pro athletes).

[K8-EEE]

86. Stay at home moms with young kids should get life insurance

Seriously! I once figured out how much my husband would have to put out for childcare and kid chauffering (not even factoring in gardening, cooking and cleaning) but just the childcare alone would have taken a HUGE chunk out of his salary. It's like every hour you're at work you're spending money on childcare - single parenthood is the ultimate pay decrease.

[frustrated_lefty]

111. Vice-versa in Texas, no?

[spanone]

89. ...bwahahhahahaha

And daddy's worth?

plumber
electrician
vehicle maintenance
painter
garbage collector
roofer
gutter cleaner
lawn care provider
animal trainer
large bug killer
cook
housekeeper
psychoanalyst
emergency medical facilitator
tree removal
deliveryman
slob
imbiber
rascal
fool

silly article.

[Nia Zuri]

90. Stay at home moms are vastly over rated

I've been both. Staying at home is a cakewalk compared to working full time and mothering on top of it.

[etherealtruth]

104. My personal experience is the exact opposite ...

... I am now a single mother, but the youngest is 11.

[Maru Kitteh]

120. Then again, maybe it was just you.

perhaps YOU were worthless as a stay at home parent. Too bad for your kids I guess.

[frustrated_lefty]

92. There is an assumption of competency at these "jobs"

Presumably, there may even be an assumption of "advanced skill" which might be appended to the job applicant's CV?

What do you pay the cook when they burn the food you've purchased and then order out? What do you pay the psychologist when they've so emotionally damaged your children that years of professional therapy are actually required?

What about pay for the time that father's have to spend away from their children?

Let me know when you find wonder-mom, I'd love a photo for the sake of posterity.

Bitching aside, the stay at home mom thing is hellacious and mom's need more kudos for that. They also, I think, need to be reminded to take private time to stay vibrant.

[B2G]

97. My sister-inlaw is a stay at home mom

She has 3 kids under 8. Her typical schedule:

Take the 2 oldest to school at 8:00.
Light cleaning/laundry.
Drop 2 year old at grandmas.
Gym/tennis in the afternoon, alternate shopping on various days.
Pick up the kids from school & grandma's at 3:00.
Make dinner.
Call my brother at work at 5:00, telling he'd best be home on time because she's been cooped up with the kids all day.


Yeah, rough.

[Zookeeper]

105. Well, I'm a stay at home mom and besides the usual....

household chores, I've also:

Painted the exterior of our house.
Single-handedly replaced the wax ring under the toliet.
Built furniture.
Scraped wall-paper and done interior painting.
Refinished wood floors.
Pulled up carpet and laid wood floors.
Laid tile.
Reglazed windows.
Landscaping.
Cleaned out waste lines with an auger.
Refinished furniture and cabinets.
Built a masonry wall.
Trimmed trees.
Built raised bed gardens.

Etc.

In addition to raising three kids, two of whom have health issues.

I'm not complaining, but not all of us are playing tennis and shopping during the day.

[earth mom]

94. K & R! Can't wait to show my dh this!

:woohoo:

[frustrated_lefty]

96. Your dead husband?

[earth mom]

118. Dear Husband. nt

[treestar]

98. Saw this before and you can't do 10 jobs at once at get paid full

time for them all. It should be rated at 1/10th the pay of each job at the very least. The claim of being a psychologist is insulting to real, licensed psychologists with doctorates.

Whatever a live in Nanny would be paid might be some real estimate of it.

[Orsino]

100. Uh, no.

Just because it might cost that much to hire strangers to do those jobs doesn't make a mom's labors "worth" that much.

[AwakeAtLast]

110. I teach 800 children A WEEK

Then go home to my child and take care of her.

Does that mean I'm worth 801 x 134,121? If so, I would also like to ask for retroactive pay. ;)

[frustrated_lefty]

112. 'tard, do you do their laundry?

Cheap bastard, escaping to work, you don't know what work is, you SO don't appreciate me!

[AwakeAtLast]

113. No,but I've been thrown up on, sprayed with food

helped clean up after their accidents, just as if I was their parent. Who said this was an escape?

Is this sarcasm?

[frustrated_lefty]

114. Sorry friend, bitter sarcasm.

Not aimed at you, though. Sorry for the scatter. :(

[Dave From Canada]

117. Why should people be paid for taking care of their own children???