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• A tremendous feeling of fulfillment, the thought of being important, needed
• Gratification they recieve from knowing they are giving their children a strong moral foundation
• It's a full time career with its own ample rewards
• Satisfaction of knowing that they are there when their children need them
• A pleasure of giving, as well as seeing their children grow, and being an integral part of their lives

• Not having a sence of fulfillment, feeling their lives are limited, and they are trapt
• Feeling that being at home makes them lose their sense of self
• Not having a high self-worth
• Feeling less appreciated at home that they did at work

http://members.aol.com/samnewltr/samnews.htm
www.familyandhome.org
www.mainstreetmom.com

Therefore...

In today's society if you walk up to a women and ask what is her career, if the answer is I'm a stay-at-home mom people might tend to look down on her, but if she is a working mom, they might ask, how do you do it all? This happens to many women and it makes it harder for them to choose between their children and work, leaving them second guessing (Business Week, 2000). But for the first time in 25 years the percentage of new moms returning to work has fallen from 59% in 1998 to 55% in 2000 (Fox, 2002). On the contrary, from 1975 to 1990, the work labor force for woman has grown steadily and women with children account for most of the increase (Hayghe, 1998). It is interesting to note that all of the statistical information on this subject is controversial, but it also shows that more women have a lifestyle choice instead of an economic choice. It all comes down to if women are happier working or staying at home with their children. It is a choice that all mothers must make, but how it affects their children is still debateable.

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Reference:

Fox, Adrienne (2002, Jan.). New Mothers increasingly are deciding no to go back to work. HRMagazine, 47, 24.
Genevie, Louis, Ph.D.& Margolies, Eva (1987). The Motherhood Report: How Women Feel about Being Mothers. New York: Macmillian Publishing.
Hayghe, H.V. (Fall 1998). Women's Labor Force Participation. Family Economics & Nutrition Review, 11, 55.
Holcomb, Betty (1998). Not Guilty!: The Good News about Working Mother. New York: Scribner.
New Debate over Working Moms (2000, Sept. 18). Business Week, 102.
Orenstein, Peggy (2001 Aug.). Will your child suffer if you work? The latest dispatch from the Mommy Wars front says yes. The real problem?
Society's unwillingness to support working moms. Redbook, 197, 54-56.
Perters, Joan K. (1997). When Mothers Work. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley.
Working in the 21st Century. May 1, 2002, www.bls.gov/opub/working/page16b.htm

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