Are Stay-at-Home Moms Lazy? Plus, Kathie Lee & Hoda
Anderson is joined by a panel of moms who discuss the controversial new study that says moms with jobs outside the home are healthier and happier, and debate the issue of who is actually happier. Also, Anderson speaks with a mom who works outside the home who shares her extreme point of view, claiming that moms who stay at home are “lazy.”
Anderson Wants to Hear Your Opinion
Anderson also talks with one mom who has gone to extremes to work from home, currently working as a phone sex operator. Video: Day in the Life of a Mom Phone Sex Operator
Plus, Anderson welcomes the wild ladies of "Today," Kathie Lee & Hoda… with an enormous glass of wine! Kathie Lee and Hoda weigh in on the controversial mom study and reveal how much they really know about each other in a hilarious game of "Anderson's Fill in the Blank with Kathie Lee & Hoda."
Comments
Seriously? I jus*****ched this preview and couldn't help but laugh when I see these plastic women up there on that stage having the audacity to call stay-at-home moms lazy. Lazy? Hmmm, I have a word for you women... SELFISH. How does that word strike you? I think you women are so completely into yourselves that its sick. You think that stay-at-home moms don't go to the gym because they aren't concerned with their self image? Really? It never occured to you that making cupcakes and getting them to the kids' classrooms, attending all of the kids' sporting events, teaching the kids healthy eating habits by having a sit down home-cooked dinner every evening, and so very much more, just might be a LITTLE BIT MORE IMPORTANT than going to the gym, going tanning, or getting your nails done? Stay-at-home moms think doing these things are MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANY CAREER OR GYM. If you have a career, you are leaving your kids alone, or with someone other than yourself. Why did you have kids if you had no intention of taking care of them? You must like the IDEA of kids more than the reality of loving and taking care of them. Stay-at-home moms realize that their children are only young once. You can never go back and recapture the time that you spent working late instead of attending your child's sports/school/etc. events. When the kids are older, there is plenty of time to go do all these things, to even go back to school, have a career, whatever you want. Stay-at-home moms recognize these things and take the time to help their children enjoy their innocence and youth. One last thing to say to all those moms who call stay-at-home moms lazy, who do you think will be taking care of you when you are old enough to be bed-ridden and wearing Depends? I imagine the nursing homes of the future will be filled to the brim with you selfish mothers, because you can't honestly believe that those same kids that you shuffled off to your nannies/babysitters/daycares every day would put off their own gym visits or lucrative careers to care for YOU.
What I didn't see addressed is the type of job the mother has. Some of the mothers act like if your working you must have a mentally stimulating fulfilling job. I am a working mom as a nurse and I often wish I could be a stay at home mom and devote my energy on my child instead of my emotionally draining often thankless and high stress job (as I am responsible for others well being at work). I certainly would be healthier if I didn't work. I'm sure there are others in similar jobs that would be healthier and happier not working and could devote more energy to their families that way.
I had to make an account just to join in this discussion because I am seriously disgusted watching this video. SAHM get no respect and no flack and it's all because people don't understand exactly what it is we do. It is a choice of ours to put our kids first and make sure they are taken care of in a way that we feel no one could ever take care of them. If someone else feels OK with leaving their kids under the care of someone else if they are in the position not (except for school) then that is their prerogative but to say that what we are doing is lazy is saying that you are ignorant!
Why do we SAHMs feel the need to defend and justify the choice we have made? My husband works very hard outside our home, and I work very hard inside our home. When we married we were on exactly the same page relative to what we wished our family structure to be should God bless us with children. Those who call SAHMs "lazy" clearly do not recognize the importance of a mother's role in her children's lives.
I enjoyed WATCHING THE DEBATE, I am a 32 yr old mom and wife with two young children. Sofia 3 yrs old and a 5 1/2 week old, my days are full, all day every day. As for the debate about stay at home moms and those that work full or part time. I was a career women for 10 yrs and at 28 I was surprised to find out that I was pregnant, after being told by various doctors that I would never conceive due to an illness that I overcame in my teen yrs. I was determined to enjoy to the fullest being a mommy, I did continue to work during the first 2 1/2 yrs of my first born life and I was torn because I felt that I was missing out on very important developmental milestones. She is 3 yrs old and I am a stay at home mom thanks to the efforts and hard work provided by my husband. I do plan on returning to the work force when my girls are older and more independent.
I'm 53 and never had children. But I must say, I never thought I'd see the day when a person raising their own children without outside help would be denigrated. It used to be that raising children had a much higher status.
I also never thought I'd see the day when someone would characterize staying home to raise children as "leaching off their husband". Not only do they insult the SAHMs of today, they have insulted generations of women who contributed to their families in that way.
Funny, if they hired someone and had to pay them to do what the SAHMs are doing, they wouldn't say that person was worthless. But if you perform all those services for free for your family, you're worthless.
There is no logic to their stance.
Dear Anderson, I was a stay at home mom as well as looking after friends kids. Well I had one kid that told me when he as in school. He would run to tell me all about what happen in school and also wanted to tell his mom. Well his mom had a very demanding job. She would not knell down and really look at him. By the next year I would ask him what happened in school and he said " no cares but you". I said his mom cared. He told me if my mom cared she would be home with me. I told the mother and she told me to mind my own business. I had the kid and his bother, for 3 more years and then I said I could not do it no more.
It hurt me to see the kid not being happy, my husband and I tried everything. I baked everyday. In the summer they all played in the pool most of everyday. We took walk's and wrote about the walk, etc. Any one who says staying at home mom is lazy does not know what they are talking about. I worked 8-10 hrs in the lab where I worked and it was sure easier the staying home with kids.
I see a lot of misunderstanding and closed minds with this topic. I have done both work 40+ hours a week and stay at home. I currently stay at home. My husband works outside the home and I am also fortunate to draw an income of my own that helps. LAZY is a hurtful word for stay at home moms. My days are busy from 5:30 am until bedtime. I contribute to our family savings by gardening and preserving for winter as well. Have you seen the price of produce lately? I'm very happy to not have to pay someone else to watch my own child or clean my house and handle my laundry. Daycare was more than my house mortgage when I was working! I was heavier working outside the home in an office sitting at a desk and indulging in office party food and take out. I eat healthier now because I have the time to plan and prepare good food. My husband appreciates a good meal and his house in order when he comes home. What it boils down to is it works for some people to stay at home and it doesn't for others. I don't think that working moms can be described as bad in any way. It just works for them and their families. I invite people to open their minds. Running a household is NEVER lazy.
It is honestly my goal to be a stay-at-home-mom, and my fiancé supports my decision. Although I love my career as a Registered Veterinary Technician, it does not make sense financially for us to both be working full-time and sending the children to a daycare. I would be working specifically to send a child to daycare, as my salary would be used in its entirety to send a child to daycare. It would cost even more if we had more than one child. Financially, it doesn't make sense, and furthermore, I don't want a stranger raising my children and possibly teaching them bad habits. Instead, I have decided to continue my education by taking a course in dog grooming, in the hopes that I can have a home business when we have a family.
Seriously, why are we rehashing this age-old discussion. Some working moms and some SAH moms will never agree that the other "side" has it harder. I have done both and can honestly say that there are "easier" and "harder" things about both staying home or working outside the home. Any mother who stereotypes an entire segment of any population as "lazy" will never be convinced otherwise because she is too closed-minded to consider any other opinion but her own. I feel sorry for that woman, she seems angry and unhappy, for reasons known only to herself.
I think that many SAHMs are simply spoiled and live with a daily mentality of entitlement. I could not live with myself if I knew that I was leaching off of my spouse. Kids do need a stable home environment, especially if they are younger. Once children enter school, moms should also enter atleast part-time employment.
i used to work 40 hours a week then i would come home and was so exhausted i would neglect housework and such. and if i did cook and clean i felt like i barely had time for my kids. then my husband got a raise and my paycheck ended up being extra money. it wasnt needed to pay bills or anything. so i quit my job and decided to try being a sahm. i decided instead of that extra money i would invest myself into my kids and home. best decision i ever made. i only regret not doing it sooner. i find so much satisfaction staying home, bonding with my kids, keeping the house clean and organized, cooking 3 times a day....i am so much happier staying home than i ever was at my job. it differs for everyone though. some cant stay home without going nuts. its a individual, personal decision. its about whats important to you. is it your career? (i understand most women must work, please dont misunderstand me) or is it your relationship potential with your kids and the cleanliness of your home and such? i velieve if a women doesnt need to work then it is totally okay for them to choose to stay home. my hubby loves me staying home. he gets satisfaction knowing he brings home the bacon and i do everything else. totally works for us. and let me be very clear...I AM NOT LAZY! i work harder now than i did at work, seriously. :)
I agree with all of the SAHM'S! Im a 30yo SAHM of 2 wonderful children..12yo daughter and 8yo son. I homeschool as well. My son has ADHD and some behavioral problems and my daughter is the complete opposite. So we have constant chaos in the house when things dont go his way and guess what...same for her. So we rarely have an easy day lol. Ive done the work grind as well and then came home and had to do parenting, wife duties, and all that fun stuff. I missed out on so much with my children when they were alot younger and I regret it to a point, but I had to do what was needed of me for my children at the time. It would have been great to be there for them all of the time. At that time I didnt have the luxury of being home with them. I did the quality time was at bedtime and it hurt so much...but it didnt hurt just me, it hurt them the most. No child wants to be away from their MOMMA. I consider myself lucky to be able to be home with my children all day everyday because I did miss out on so much. As for lazy, yea we only wish for a lazy day LOL.
My mom worked all of the time and still does...and til this day we still dont have a healthy relationship. We lived with my grandparents while I was growing up so I did have the stablity of the SAHM too.
Ive seen the best of both worlds and honestly being a SAHM is alot HARDER and alot MORE STIMULATING than any JOB Ive ever had.
I'm a SAHM to a 4 year old and a 1 year old. While I do have some "lazy" days where I don't get as much accomplished as I do on other days, I really don't consider any SAHM lazy. The main reason I am a SAHM is because we can't afford daycare for our kids, even if I did get a "real" job. And there are days that my kids drive me nuts with whining about things or tantrums, but I love being at home with them. I do have a "job" of sorts, besides taking care of my kids. I work for PartyLite Candles, and while it's not your average 9-5 job, it gets me out of the house a few times a month usually, and gives us a little extra money when I do have parties to do. Plus, this fall, my 4 year old will start preschool, so that will make things even busier at my house.
I also have a friend who is another SAHM, and she is far from lazy! She runs an in-home daycare, and also does her own home based business on top of that. She is always on the go, either with her own 3 year old, and the daycare kids.
Yet another friend of mine has 2 kids, 7 years old and 4 years old. She is a SAHM and does homeschooling with both her kids. Her 7 year old takes dance lessons, and several language classes on top of regular schoolwork and enrichment classes through the school district - all the kid's choice too, not the parents' choice. Her kids are great kids, and she loves being at home with her kids as well, and we do play dates all the time. She is way busier than I am, so I really doubt any one can call her lazy either.
I would really like to see working moms spend even a day in the life a SAHM, and see if they really think we're lazy with all the stuff we have to do - feed the kids, potty training, laundry, discipline when necessary, dishes, cleaning the house, etc....
I believe moms who work out side the home and moms whostay home taking care of childen both work very hard. I have done both! I stayed home for about five years raising my three children. When the need for a two income household came around, I went to work and put my children in daycare.Fourteen years into the marriage we divorced, so then I became a single household income. ( although I received childsupport) BUT in 2007 child support of $1800 stopped because my ex was arrested for molesting two children. One of them being our girl. Needless to say it has just sucked!!! My daughter was having some issues, I moved back to my home state and decide to work at home so that I can be there for my children.I run a daycare out of my home. Sure I need to have a second job because we barely get by but I choose to stay home so that I know they get their homework done, and meals prepared. I have only so many years left with my children until they move on to better things. So for now togetherness is what we have.