Monday, February 18, 2008

OPINION POLL

Hi all,

I feel better. I just had a bowl of pepper soup. Men it was hot!. My kids are better too and are well tucked in already.

Anyway, i want your opinions on an issue that is daunting to me. Like i said before i am a stay at home mum. I was very content with this arrangement initially but after 3 kids and 4 years of staying at home and being a TV Guru, i have really grown weary. Infact that is one of the reasons i started this blog. I just needed to exercise my brain and get gratification that it isn't dead. I crave to have a career and sometimes envy women who joggle it all. I for one opted to stay at home coz the cost of child care is ridiculously exorbitant. We would have to pay off anything i earned if i worked, to child care.

There are different opinions when it comes to this issue. Some say it is priceless for a mother to raise her kids, some say women who stay at home are weak, that they could do it both and others believe a nanny will be just fine; that career comes first. In my opinion i don't think it is fair to pass judgement on any of these opinions. I am a stay at home mum and i find delight in raising my kids but a part of me yearns to build a career. I want more out of my life. I want to feel that sense of self worth and independence. Likewise, i am sure most career mums miss out on raising thier kids.

I just want to know how you feel about this topic. How do you get a balance in your life? Be you a stay at home mum or a career woman/mum.

Cheers.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes,it can be a very tough decision when you find urself in this kind of dilenma. i stayed home for about a year for my first child and I remember feeling like it was a lot on me, psychologically. Even though it was just me and the baby, i remember never having enough time for anything outside being a mum, i could never really organise my time to accomodate much and couldn't help feeling I needed to get out and do something in terms of work or school, just anything to fill that void, considering I had never had a reason to be home for that long. Growing up, my mum was a stayhome mum, we were quite a number, and even though she wanted to work, my dad decided otherwise, and i could never imagine how it would have felt if she wasn't always there like she was, even when i was older and she travelled for a few days, i will miss her so much becos home just wasn't the same without her. I remember thinking I would like to be home like that for my kids, but you know what? Times are different now. Apart from the day care fees situation, which i know is just ridiculously high, you have to decide what you really want, otherwise, the kids will get older, and you will wonder where time went, realizing a little too late that you could have done everything side by side, cos they won't always be babies. There is a certain satisfaction derived from being a good mum to ur kids and a good wife and housekeeper, but it shouldn't be at the expense of setting urself on a carrer path of ur choice. like you have mentioned, some women are able to juggle everything, you can do it too. There is no end to the sacrifice that a mother makes for her family, but if you are able to go out and do something that will set you on a career path, it will only make you a better helpmate to ur man, a better provider for ur kids and most of all that satisfaction of feeling fufilled in whatever you choose to do. Think about it and rub minds with ur man.... remember you can do it!
Goodluck!

mum said...

Thanks so much for that. I am actually taking some courses in project management now. i am laying the foundation for when i am ready to go back to work in about 2 years. I really think there can be a balance. Thanks.