We hear so much about why mothers should stay home and raise their children (assuming you have the choice), but what about the reason why we shouldn’t? Here’s my list of the top ten reasons why we should not stay home and raise our kids.
1. Driving a fancy car is more important than being home: Yes, ladies, that SUV or luxury car is definitely more important than watching your baby take her first step, or teaching your son his times tables.
2. You want to provide more things for your kids: Again, a valid argument. I can see how you would want more video games and toys for your children and that the material things outweigh your presence.
3. You want them raised with somebody else’s values and morals: Of course we do! When we had children we decided that it would be better for somebody else to instill value, morals and presumably their faith into our children.
4. We like high juvenile crime: It brings great peace to us when we see the increase in juvenile crime, including violent crimes. When we’re not with our children, we’re okay not knowing where they are, who they’re with, or what they’re doing.
5. We need more time to ourselves: I totally understand. It’s just too much work to organize your day staying home so that you can be the primary caretaker of your children and still find time for yourself. And of course, we could never be selfless, putting our children’s needs in front of ours.
6. We want our kids to socialize: Again, too much work for a woman who stays home to organize play dates or take them to the park where they can meet new friends.
7. We want our children to be more independent of us: Yes, we want to teach our children by age five that they should be solely responsible for their actions, behaviors, and that they should be capable of getting themselves fed, bathed and tucked in.
8. We want our kids to see us ‘doing it all’: Let me tell you, your three year old is so totally impressed with your standing in a major corporation. They beam with pride. They completely understand and rationalize the reason why you are not around.
9. A few hours a night is enough: We wouldn’t want to overdo it! The few hours between picking them up from daycare and putting them to bed is plenty.
10. We want them to learn to adjust: And from birth, we should be teaching them that they can only rely on themselves, and they’ll be better people for it.