Should mothers stay at home to raise their children?
All the Yes points:
- As early childhood is the most formative period of development for a child it is important that a mo…
- Because the whole of society benefits from giving children the best possible start in life, the gove…
- Many childcare options are poor quality with one adult looking after many children at once. This can…
- Many religions and culture view a women’s place as being in the home. Within this sphere they are r…
- Mothers who stay at home with their children are more likely to have time to be involved with their …
All the No points:
As early childhood is the most formative period of development for a child it is important that a mo…
Yes because…
As early childhood is the most formative period of development for a child it is important that a mother has as much time to devote to her children as possible. By staying at home mothers could ensure that the next generation had the best start in life, hopefully averting future problems and providing a benefit to society as a whole.
No because…
Mothers should have much freedom as anyone else in society to decide what is best for them and their children. If they would rather work and make alternative arrangements for the care of their child, then that should be considered equally valid. It could cause depression if women are forced to give up work they enjoy to care for their children.
Because the whole of society benefits from giving children the best possible start in life, the gove…
Yes because…
Because the whole of society benefits from giving children the best possible start in life, the government should do more to allow more women to make a positive choice to stay at home. State benefit payments to parents should be much more generous, and the pensions system could be altered to avoid penalising women who make this valuable choice. State social services, such as health visitors and early years education teams, should be better funded and more widely available to help support mothers in the home.
No because…
Many women actually have no choice about whether to work or stay at home full time. Either because of poverty or because they are single parents, or both, women find they must work to earn enough money to provide for their family. Regardless of the supposed benefits to children of having a mother at home in their early years, studies have found clear evidence to show that childhood poverty has a lasting negative impact upon children. Expecting mothers to stay at home will also make them more dependent upon their partners, making it harder for women to escape from abusive relationships.
Many childcare options are poor quality with one adult looking after many children at once. This can…
Yes because…
Many childcare options are poor quality with one adult looking after many children at once. This can leave young children bored and uninterested slowing their rate of development. Those on low pay are forced to rely on these options to take care of their children even when they are of low quality or they would prefer to stay at home. Supporting all mothers to stay at home would prevent this problem.
No because…
Many forms of childcare can be beneficial and complimentary to the care provided by parents. For many centuries it has been traditional for extended families to participate in raising families and older generations such as grandparents have had hands on experience with young children before. Childcare professionals have similar experience and have often taken courses on child development that make them more knowledgeable than a first time parent. Similarly playing with other children is just as important for improving children’s social skills as contact with their parents. Nurseries and childminders can be good places to expose children to other children.
Many religions and culture view a women’s place as being in the home. Within this sphere they are r…
Yes because…
Many religions and culture view a women’s place as being in the home. Within this sphere they are respected as of paramount. Facilitating women to stay at home with their children respects these beliefs and helps to foster the culture of respect towards women’s special role that underpins them.
No because…
Focusing on the mother neglects the responsibilities of the father, other family members and the state in raising the child. Even when state aid to stay at home is offered to either parent, traditional cultures can enforce this role on the mother, reducing any chances that a job may provide to increase the personal freedom of women from restrictive cultures. Women who do not have children will also suffer, as prejudice that defines motherhood as the most important role for women will also deny them equal opportunities in other areas.
Mothers who stay at home with their children are more likely to have time to be involved with their …
Yes because…
Mothers who stay at home with their children are more likely to have time to be involved with their community. Volunteers are needed in many spheres of education such as PTAs (Parent-Teacher Associations), classroom assistants or organisers of school trips and mothers who stay home are able to become more fully involved in these aspects of community life.
No because…
Encouraging mothers to work increases the number of people in the workforce thereby increasing the productivity of the country. This also helps to create jobs in the childcare sector, generating employment for more people.
Nothing is universally wrong or right. Things are mostly case specific. If mother is highly educated and respectably employed in high profile job her sense of expectations from herself will not let her live peacefully at home. There will be a continued sense of dissatisfaction in life. This will surely have negative impact on her relationship with child and other family members. Or if her job is crucial to family’s financial well being but she chooses to stay home then again the child will suffer (because of low quality childcare due to poverty). However, if in both cases there is a suitable family member who can act as primary care provider (grandparent, aunt etc) during mother’s working hours, there is hardly any harm in working. But if there is no alternative to the mother, the child may suffer. However, that again is case dependent. The child may end up at a good childcare facility or the child may not be too much sensitive physically or emotionally and may due quite well at a childcare home or playway. In both cases he/she will be fine. But a sensitive child will definitely have hard time dealing with separation from mother. So, it is all case specific.
And we should never forget that not all women are good mothers. Some have no knowledge of proper childcare and some don’t even care at all. It is not uncommon to see many women behaving harshly with their own child. In such cases other relatives or even childcare employees are rather better options. I have been raised by a working mother. I had some difficulties but mostly was a happy child who enjoyed to play with cousins and friends until parents were home. And that happiness and excitement of having parents home at the end of the day was a bonus. I ended up highly educated and responsible government employee who is serving the country and raising a beautiful boy with the help of his loving grandmom.
Socially, the cost of raising healthy (physically and emotionally) people is MUCH LESS than the cost of trying to fix the problems that arise later in life from a Child being given a cold start in life-away from the mother–which society does not want to pay for. Financially, it is obviously cheaper to pay a Mom who stays in her own home, than for the government to continue to pay for triple the cost of childcare.
When mothers work outside the home, they have less time to spend with their children. They have less time for the vital parts of family and community life that we can’t put a dollar value on. The level of stress increases in the family when parents are so pressed for time because both are working full-time jobs. If more mothers stayed at home, we would have stronger nuclear families, stronger extended families, and stronger communities.
We would love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Many mothers cant afford to stay home that is the problem in this country “ The Two income trap”. Parents need to be present to there children for homework after school activities sick days. Dinner doing all these things and working full time is stressing families out beyond belief.
So living off of government benefits is okay? In my honest opinion, you sound like you’re nothing but a scrounger living off the government benefits. Therefore you have the mentality of, “No one should WORK!” Grow up Peter Pan, its time you take responsibility for yourself.
Explain your point a bit more. It’s clear.
I say this James Damien is correct. What does Dave have to say
Lets pray he does not end up crying like a baby.