The Cultural Disease That Is Infecting Stay at Home Moms ( To Work or Not to Work from Home )
- Raquel
- Jan 11, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: May 11, 2020
The obligation Stay At Home Mom's ( SAHM ) feel in our society today to not only be a SHAM, as if it is insufficient of a role, but to also work from home and provide a portion of the house hold income has become a very real epidemic. I know, I've been there, infact , I AM THERE! Yep, I am a stay at home, homeschooling, work from home business owner.
The pressure to become a work from home mom, all to often, comes not as a result from the husband requiring the wife to work or even from the family be in need of a portion of financial provision but due to the fact that our culture simply has started saying that a SAHM should also seek to generate an income from home.
So what is the big deal here? It seems ambitious does it now? What is the danger of being a work from home mom?
There are some very REAL DANGERS of becoming a work from home mom. First and foremost............................................
BURN OUT!! Did you know that mental health studies show that being a SAHM is equivalent to working 2.5 full time jobs? On average that is a 14 hour work day or 98 hours a week ( NY post article referenced at the bottom of this blog entry). Tack on to that an actual job which generates an income and a SAHM very easily can find herself working what is equivalent to 3.5 full time jobs. Any one of us would grow weary! We were not designed by our Father in Heaven to be machines! We are humans, created in His image to actually need rest!
Secondly there is the danger of lack of being fully present with our children. This has been among one of the greatest challenges for me personally as a work from home mom. The responsibilities of our work duties, if not guarded carefully, can very easily create in us an urgency for them to take presidency over our time with our children. There is even the possibility of it becoming an escape from the every day challenges of motherhood. Thus, neglecting out children , thus nullifying the whole purpose of us staying at home.
Lastly, there is the very real danger of idolatry, bitterness or covetousness of a career outside of the home. As a work from home mom you may begin comparing yourself to those moms that work strictly outside of the home. You may feel the pressure to live up to their career achievements or become un-content with the progress you have personally made as a working SAHM. Comparison is deadly!
Friend, these are only 3 very real challenges that a work from home stay at home mom faces on a regular basis.
YES, working from home is a challenge. Am I telling you NOT TO DO IT? No, I am not. Some of you are simply ambitious, for some it may be the one thing you are doing to invest in yourself. I AM HOWEVER TELLING YOU TO WEIGH THE COST!
If you are able to simply be a SAHM and do not have the obligation to work from home, DO NOT LET OUR CULTURE MAKE YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU ARE REQUIRED TO JUGGLE A JOB ON TOP OF FULL TIME MOTHERING. YOUR WORK AS A SAHM IS SUFFICIENT!
If you are in a position where you must work from home for one reason or another, be diligent to set boundaries mama friend. YOUR MENTAL HEALTH IS CRITICAL!
Set a "end to your work day " so that you are not working from the time your feet hit the ground to the time you fall asleep in exhaustion.
Have guarded times away when you have a sitter, your husband, or a loved one come and manage your duties as a mother for a few hours so that you can get away and invest in yourself.
Have a faithful friend or an older woman who is a mentor that will serve as an accountability partner to invest in yourself and maintain your emotional, mental, physical, spiritual health a priority.
Overall, working from home can indeed become an epidemic that is INFECTING SAHMs when left unchecked. Everything in moderation sister. Whether you stay at home and do not work or stay at home and work from home do it all to the glory of God.
Cheering you on and here if you ever need prayer.
Big Hugs Today ;
Raquel
P.S . - Stay tunes for our post on my top HEALTHY choices to generate an income as a stay at home mom.
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