Dear Dr. Laura:
I am a 31-year-old single woman raised by a stay-at-home mom. I went to college and graduate school. I pay my own bills and work full-time in a marketing career that I love. I was recently floored by an article I saw that said girls with working moms get better jobs and better pay, according to recent research. I was disappointed to read the thread of comments below the article where many women reinforced these findings by praising their moms for working full-time when they were younger. Some comments said they believed that working is the best thing they could do for their children, because it sets the best example of what it means to work hard and attain success. When did success mean money? When did it mean making excuses for abandoning your children with a nanny or daycare where they aren't raised by their own parents?
Articles like this sadden me, because there has been such a decline in the acknowledgment and appreciation of stay-at-home moms. My mom chose not to have a career because she wanted to raise her three children herself. We grew up always having her available to pick us up after school, help us with our homework, ensure we were cared for, and most of all, love us so much that she gave up her own monetary aspirations for her family.
If the day comes that I have children of my own, I'll be giving up my career and raising them just like my mom. Contrary to what that article stated, girls with stay-at-home moms get far more than money could ever buy.
Neely
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