Hello Moms,

Why are you a stay at home mom? Do the pro's out weigh the con's in staying at home instead of working a job.

Roxanne 

I think the pros and cons are equal, when you consider day care cost! Instilling your disipline tactics, raising your children opposed to having someone else raising them! Going insane being home all day with them when everyone else in the world is working..lol  there is no right choice except maybe working part time and getting your children socialized and used to other people! As well as having the security of knowing you are there for them.

Yeah I think your right...

My daughter has started taking our grandson to story time at the library. That gives him social time and her. There is also the YMCA where they have activities.

Someone else give us your why and pro's and con's.

Number One: Daycare is expensive!!

Number Two: Nobody is going to love my son as much as I love him, therefore the care I provide him is going to be the most nurturing.

Number Three: There are plenty of  places/playgroups where we live that encourage social interaction.

Number Four: You don't have to worry about your child picking up bad behavior from daycare because you are always supervising him/her and raising them the way you choose.

The Pros outweigh the Cons any day!

I agree w/ April. (By the way, you have a beautiful name ). There r pros & con's to both. My daughter is only 7 months so there is no way I'd put her in Day Care. She is babysat by her grandma or her usual baby sitter whom is a life long family friend & more like family than some actual family members. Is it expensive? Well, 15% of what I make goes to her babysitter, so I figure if you have two or more kids, then that's when it may not start to make sense to pay someone to watch them, since just about all your $ will be going to baby sitters/day care.  While I love the adult conversations & mind stimulation of working, the main reason I do is for the $. We rent & r saving up for our own house. It would take 2-3x longer to save on just one income. Until this day there is nothing i've wanted for my daughter that I couldnt afford to buy (Realistic stuff) & I know if I weren't working, this may not be the case. On the flip side, I have to leave my daughter 40 hours a week, which sucks.

I have been a stay at home mom since august of last year. I am former military and just recently gotten out. For almost the first year of my son's life he had to be in day care in an area where there was only one day care. It was expensive. Since staying at home, which has been hard because I had a full time job for the past year, I have gotten to finally see things first. That is the best part of being here. I got to see him take his first steps. I missed getting to hear the first things he said, the first actual smile. Yet, I miss the interaction from other adults, in a baby free world, that I had at work. I think the pros heavily weigh in on the cons.

Thankfully when my kids were small I worked with my husband at his business and could set my own hours and even take the kids some. Then after they got older I went to corporate America. I soon realized that they needed me as much if not more after they got older. When my youngest daughter was just starting high school I couldn't be there until later in the evening. We started seeing negative changes without having the proper supervision. In her junior year she began sneaking out and skipping school. My job was really getting in the way and they had overlooked me on a promotion so I quit. My husband and I then decided to home school her through an accredited high school that issues diploma's. If I had not quit my job she would have ended up dropping out, but she has now finished her high school (5 mo. early :)) and gotten her diploma.

I would most definately say that there are more pro's than cons to being home for your children. Thankfully I was introduced to my work at home business that has allowed me to build for our future.

When the kids finally start school there is a lot of other adult interaction with other moms.

To me, I was raised that one of my parents was always at home when my sister and I were growing up.  To me it was about my parents being there for me as why I stay home.  Yes, I'm sure working would help our family, but I like staying with my children and making sure they are learning the things they need to learn to grow up and be wise adults.