Comments on: Are You Happier as a Working Mom or a Stay-at-Home Mom? – Dr Laura Schlessinger http://theadventurouswriter.com/soar/are-you-happier-working-mom-stay-at-home-mom-dr-laura-schlessinger/ Well-Behaved Women Rarely Make History Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:35:14 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen http://theadventurouswriter.com/soar/are-you-happier-working-mom-stay-at-home-mom-dr-laura-schlessinger/comment-page-1/#comment-1827 Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:37:19 +0000 http://theadventurouswriter.com/soar/?p=1064#comment-1827 Susan, Thanks for your comment -- it's great to hear how you balanced work with being a mom! That's so great that you were part of the 70s women's movement...my own mother was a teacher, and I was always so proud of her work. I loved that she worked outside the home -- I really admired her for that. Like you said, staying at home with kids is the right choice for some moms...and working is the best choice for others. Laurie .-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post..Marriage and Money Problems – Helping Your Spouse Through Financial Difficulties =-. Susan,

Thanks for your comment — it’s great to hear how you balanced work with being a mom! That’s so great that you were part of the 70s women’s movement…my own mother was a teacher, and I was always so proud of her work. I loved that she worked outside the home — I really admired her for that.

Like you said, staying at home with kids is the right choice for some moms…and working is the best choice for others.

Laurie
.-= Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen´s last blog post..Marriage and Money Problems – Helping Your Spouse Through Financial Difficulties =-.

]]> By: Susan http://theadventurouswriter.com/soar/are-you-happier-working-mom-stay-at-home-mom-dr-laura-schlessinger/comment-page-1/#comment-1819 Susan Tue, 02 Feb 2010 08:23:38 +0000 http://theadventurouswriter.com/soar/?p=1064#comment-1819 Laurie -- These last words of your column are so important: "It’s about making choices that best suit your passions, abilities, and options – and about respecting the choices that others make." As a participant in the 70's women's movement and beyond, this is what it was about to me: CHOICE. And not choice followed up with a holier-than-thou attitude toward others about what their choices were! My choice was to be a working mom. I did have some advantages--as a college professor,I could (and did) easily teach with my daughter in a front pack and have her in my office when she was small. When she was older, the entire campus was her playground (we lived right on campus). And if she was sick, I could rearrange classes. The stress wasn't a killer until a divorce when she was 4. After that, life was much more difficult; some days she got short shrift and other days I did (just like in a stay-at-home family). But after 9 years at university earning a PhD, staying at home didn't make a lot of sense to me. It didn't make me love or want my daughter any less, but I would have gone stir crazy. Statistically we had more one-on-one time than children with moms at home have on average--and it was fairly rich time together, so I felt she benefited and so did I. For some people, it is the right choice to stay home; for others, it is the right choice to work. Either way we can create rich relationships and rewarding families with children who grow up to be fulfilled adults and involved, informed citizens, without taking shots at those who do it differently. Laurie –
These last words of your column are so important: “It’s about making choices that best suit your passions, abilities, and options – and about respecting the choices that others make.” As a participant in the 70′s women’s movement and beyond, this is what it was about to me: CHOICE. And not choice followed up with a holier-than-thou attitude toward others about what their choices were! My choice was to be a working mom. I did have some advantages–as a college professor,I could (and did) easily teach with my daughter in a front pack and have her in my office when she was small. When she was older, the entire campus was her playground (we lived right on campus). And if she was sick, I could rearrange classes. The stress wasn’t a killer until a divorce when she was 4. After that, life was much more difficult; some days she got short shrift and other days I did (just like in a stay-at-home family). But after 9 years at university earning a PhD, staying at home didn’t make a lot of sense to me. It didn’t make me love or want my daughter any less, but I would have gone stir crazy. Statistically we had more one-on-one time than children with moms at home have on average–and it was fairly rich time together, so I felt she benefited and so did I. For some people, it is the right choice to stay home; for others, it is the right choice to work. Either way we can create rich relationships and rewarding families with children who grow up to be fulfilled adults and involved, informed citizens, without taking shots at those who do it differently.

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