First of all, let me tell you that I’m not gonna try to convince you of what I think is best for you. Nor should you let others convince you. Whether you become a stay-at-home mom or a working mom is up to you. Both options have pros and cons, and you’re the one to choose which one is the right for you.

At the end of the day, doing what others think is right isn’t going to make you any happier. And that’s something that your children will notice. So you think you’re going to feel miserable as a working mom and you’d love to be present every minute of their lives? Well, then you should consider staying at home as long as you need.

However, if you want to keep on working on your career, what should stop you? Just make sure you create enough time for you to spend with your children. And at that time, there’s only you and them, no cell phones, no tablets, and no TV. Take this play-time as a way to unwind from work, and enjoy it! Kids grow up so fast; I bet you won’t want to miss it 😉

I have to confess that I have it easy. I’ve been freelancing since 2005, so I’m the one setting my work schedule. And although that includes many night shifts, I’ve been able to be at home with my kids without quitting my work – I love working and my brain is constantly generating new ideas, so I don’t think I could stop just like that. Working from home has allowed me to combine both passions – work and my kids -, and I’m more than grateful for that! It’s a pure luxury!

Pros And Cons of Being a SAHM (Stay-At-Home Mom)

Pros of being a stay-at-home mom:

• You’ll have more time for your family.
• If you like children and homemaking, you’ll likelty won’t feel stressed ’cause you can dedicate all day long to your family and home.
• You can save daycare fees, and live every new progress your children make.

Cons of being a stay-at-home-mom:

• Baby talk is fun, but you may miss having adult conversations.
• There are some financial risks for stay-at-home moms:
  • You won’t have any income, so what would happen if your husband loses his job?
  • What happens if you become a single mom? Will you be able to support your life and your kids’?
• When your children grow older, will your empty nest satisfy you? If you want to start working again once your kids are gone, you may want to keep updated. Otherwise, you may feel your past expertise isn’t enough anymore.

Pros And Cons of Being a Working Mom

Pros of being a working mom:

• You can keep your monthly income and paid holidays.
• If you love working and don’t want to renounce to your professional career, you won’t have to.
• You’ll keep updated and stay in the “real adult world,” with adult conversations – if that’s something you need 😉

Cons of being a working mom:

• You’ll have to renounce to spending time with your family – and you’ll most likely miss many first steps of your kids.
• Logistics is going to become your best friend or worst enemy, depending on how well you can manage your work-life balance.
• You’ll have to come up with daycare expenses, and you’ll have to figure out how it’s going to work when your kids are sick or when school is off. Will you be allowed to work from home then? Will you get holidays? Do you have a community to take care of your kids when needed?

Do I have to choose between family or career? Could I have both?

As you can read in this post, there’s another option for you not to choose between family and career: Working from home has worked out for me perfectly fine, so this is something I suggest you do if you’d like or have to keep on working, but don’t want to renounce to spending most time of the day with your family.

Whichever option you go for, make sure YOU choose it. Stay-at-home moms aren’t better than working moms, and the other way around. Kids need love and happy parents, so don’t feel influenced by others telling you what to do if that doesn’t make you happy!

If you’d like to know how could you use your skills to start working online from home, feel free to download this free ebook to change careers and work from home.

Alicia