"Being a mother"...the hardest job in the world?

[garcia59]

Dear Suburbanite,

Thank you for responding to my post. I am glad someone took the time to read this. Please understand that I am not trying to be a male shovinist (sorry if mispelled) I am tring to say that a "good father" is one that has his work cut out for him. Unfortunately I do not agree with your opinon that all men are hunters and gathers. Not all men are the elite, the alpha-male if you will. these are the men that you hear about daily.


They are the men cheating on their wives, cheating on their bills, and cheating their children out of things. Sure there are some bad seeds, but when the question presented was "Mom's have it rough" I thought of my own family. Whenever, pardon my french, shit hit the fan, it was always my father that i ran to for strength. My mother was the one who offered the support. I firmly believe though in that saying, not to be to cliche

"Behind every great man is a great woman"

[Suburbanite]

Originally posted by garcia59, Dear Suburbanite, Thank you for responding to my post. I am glad someone took the time to read this. Please understand that I am not trying to be a male shovinist (sorry if mispelled) I am tring to say that a "good father" is one that has his work cut out for him. Unfortunately I do not agree with your opinon that all men are hunters and gathers. Not all men are the elite, the alpha-male if you will. these are the men that you hear about daily.

Oh, I think you made a mistake, I didn’t say that about men all being hunters and gatherers, I believe that was someone else.

[sublimeonlinez]

Being a mother is not the hardest job in the world it is the most respected job in the world. Mother made all of us. some of us are more useful than others. Mother is a resource and useful strength in everyday life. the job is being able to produce and be resourceful like mother or for mother. Nuture is what we should do for each other you are tought to do unto others as they do to you. the hard job is the many challenges that life brings you. the challenge is to survive. that is the hard job, Mother only produced it.

[Suburbanite]

I don't repeat my mother nor do I act on her behalf but very seldom.

[AlmostAlice]

Being a mother isn't the hardest job in the world. Why, when you compare it against crab fishing in Alaskan waters, and all...

But it IS a very difficult job. What some of you seem to be failing to realize is that stay-at-home moms aren't just changing diapers, making bottles, and playing peek-a-boo. To honestly believe that is showing ignorance and naivety. Those in this category that I know personally fit very different profiles, but in the end, the job is a strenuous one.

I'm wondering how many of you that have posted in this thread are actually stay-at-home moms. I am one. I have three little girls, ages 4 1/2, 2 1/2, and 16 months. One goes to school during the day, the other two stay at home with me. My husband works full time as a chef, at night. He's usually asleep the majority of the morning, up for a couple of hours, then off to work until around 11:30 or so. That means I have only a couple hours of help during the day. It may sound like a great plan, but it's tough.

My job includes a plethora of duties, not all child-related. The house needs to be cleaned, laundry done, items in the home need to be repaired, the car needs work, groceries need to be bought, meals planned, etc. My husband makes the money, I have to budget it; our entire financial life depends on me finding a way to make the money he brings home work for us. Phone calls need to be made, doctor's appointments, dentist appointments, various errands, basketball practice, basketball games, teacher conferences, etc...I think I've named enough for the time being...

So let's see, that looks like I'm doing the job of several different people rolled into one: there's the chef, chauffeur, dietician, teacher, receptionist, coach, accountant, mechanic, maintenance, maid, and I'm sure others I've failed to even mention. Such as my status as a full-time college student (I'm taking my classes online for a couple of semesters so that I am able to stay at home with the kids) Yeah, it's incredibly easy.

Now, my husband, on the other hand, has ONE job: as a chef five days a week from 3 to 11. I actually met him at his job, while I was also employed there. I know what his "work" consists of. Call me ungrateful, but I've got it ten times tougher than he does, and he agrees.

I guess my point is, until you're in the position, don't judge it. Don't assume that the mothers who are staying at home are doing so in the lap of luxury. Don't assume that it's necessarily their choice, either. I love my kids to extents I didn't even know were possible, but I want to work. I want to be out of my house and away from them for a small amount of time. Ever tried looking for child care for three toddlers? Better yet, ever tried affording it? Good luck.


Now, I apologize for having made this post all about me, but it was really the only way I could get my point across (and I'm not too sure I've done that either).

[Suburbanite]

It isn't a job at all, just a self-imposed responsibility. Feeding and cleaning up after a pet isn't a job either.

[AlmostAlice]

As is any given career. We choose what we want out of life, it's not chosen for us. Just because there's a boss at your place of employment doesn't mean the choice to act accordingly isn't yours to make. "Job" doesn't always refer to a building you are paid to visit once a day.

[bna57]

I think be a stay at home mom is a position that most stay at home moms choose. And I say position loosely because I don't think that being a mom is suppossed to be looked at as a job. Yes maybe if it is an unexpected child, but many moms want a child and they know what is to come with that child. And what about those moms that work in and out of the house are they holding down two jobs then? But they aren't getting paid any more, and as for my mom she says that she wouldn't have changed the way she did things for anything. She worked along with my father and they had a joint "job" to care for my brother and I as parents.

[Mia]

I'm not a Mom, but I spend a lot of time with a friend's 2 kids right now. I don't think it's hard. There are challenges, obviously, but they bring as much joy as work, and I love taking part in caring for them.

[Mia]

Originally posted by Suburbanite, It isn't a job at all, just a self-imposed responsibility. Feeding and cleaning up after a pet isn't a job either.

?

And how would you know? What's the longest stretch of time you've ever been 100% resposible for a child?

[AlmostAlice]

And what about those moms that work in and out of the house are they holding down two jobs then?

From my perspective, yes. Both jobs are equally stressful. Depending on the situation, though, only one is important. If the woman is married and her husband is also working, chances are she doesn't actually *need* to be working. And, yes, I'm speaking from experience. Sure, it's 'easier' to handle it all when you've got the money to go with it, but kids tend to suffer when there's nobody with them, so the extra income is negated.

[mlauriston]

[quote=castille,]Actually coal miners get paid $60,000 a year in Australia in their first year, and up to $100,000 a year.

Coal minors are getting paid 60,000 a year, but mothers dont get paid for performing there job. Actually, they spend that amount of money or more on their child untill they go off to college.

I think being a mother is the hardest job in the world because you dont get paid and it's a 24 hour job. They dont get any weekends off, or any sick days. They are constantly at work and constantly worrying about their child. Not to mention the fact that they must wake up in the middle of the night when the baby is a newborn. I give mothers a lot of respect for the jobs that they are doing, especially single mothers.

[Suburbanite]

Originally posted by Mia,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Mia,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Suburbanite, It isn't a job at all, just a self-imposed responsibility.  Feeding and cleaning up after a pet isn't a job either.

?

And how would you know? What's the longest stretch of time you've ever been 100% resposible for a child?[/b][/quote]

about 13 years.

[Mia]

Oh, OK. At 5, you were placed as the sole caretaker for a baby? Or have you turned 19, making that age 6 that you had your child?

[Suburbanite]

This isn't in butterface and I'm not going to get it sent there. I answered your question.

[Suburbanite]

Originally posted by mlauriston, I think being a mother is the hardest job in the world because you dont get paid and it's a 24 hour job. They dont get any weekends off, or any sick days. They are constantly at work and constantly worrying about their child. Not to mention the fact that they must wake up in the middle of the night when the baby is a newborn. I give mothers a lot of respect for the jobs that they are doing, especially single mothers.

You don't get paid because the kid is yours! It isn't the hardest job in the world because it isn't a job. You don't get paid. It is a hard task, sometimes, and for a few years, but it isn't a job in the sense of employment. The synonym to how you are using job would be task, the synonym for using job you think you are using is employment. The difference is crucial.

A Mother is not employed, but surely a stay-at-home mom has a responsibility.

[castille]

When people start treating having children like a job, you know the world is screwed.

[AlmostAlice]

Originally posted by castille, When people start treating having children like a job, you know the world is screwed.

And, suffice it to say, it's even moreso when people aren't willing to give a parent (let alone a mother) the respect she deserves for the JOB she does. :rolleyes:

[Mia]

Originally posted by Suburbanite, This isn't in butterface and I'm not going to get it sent there. I answered your question.

Not truthfully. That would be impossible. The real question was what would you know about being a mother and it's degree of difficulty?

[Suburbanite]

Originally posted by Mia,+--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='0' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Mia,)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin-Suburbanite, This isn't in butterface and I'm not going to get it sent there. I answered your question.

Not truthfully. That would be impossible. The real question was what would you know about being a mother and it's degree of difficulty?[/b][/quote]

Well, I had a mother... and all her motherly interactions were with either me or my sisters. So quite a good deal.