How Being a Stay-at-home Mom Benefits Our Whole Family

I stay at home primarily because of our children, of course. Before we were even married, my husband and I made sure that we agreed on this, and that no matter our situation, we would do our utmost to keep our children at home with a parent, rather than in daycare. We particularly feel that infants and toddlers need a lot of time and nurture provided by mom, and so providing them with those things has become my job, so to speak.

Our children do benefit from this. We rarely have to deal with illness because I can keep them out of the winter germ-pools. If they do get a cold or the flu, I don't have to scramble to find care or ask for a day off-I'm already there. We have our busy days, but we also have days where I spend my time doing things just for them, with them. We can go to the park at a moment's notice and enjoy a good romp. I have the time to sit down with them and read a book on a whim, to play with magnetic letters, to give them paper and taech them their letters, and to sit down for a bowl of popcorn and some hot chocolate on a cold winter morning.

There is no morning rush to get everyone out the door and there are no chaotic evenings where we're not sure who's going to cook supper or what there is to eat. While the world around us is going a million miles an hour, our children's world is a calm, stable haven of peace.

If my being at home only benefitted our children, I would still do it. However, I've been happy to find out that there is a myriad of benefits to our whole family, simply by my being a full-time at-home mom. The biggest benefit is financial. In many small ways, my being at home enables us to live on less (which is good because my being at home means we have less income!). Because I am at home, I have the time to put together detailed menus and shopping lists which keep our grocery bill to a minimum. I'm able to keep track of our finances in detail month-to-month, and I have the time to actually sit down and list exactly what I need when I do have to go shopping.