A stay-at-home mother (alternatively, stay-at-home mom or SAHM) is a mother who is the primary caregiver of the children. The male equivalent is the stay-at-home dad. The gender-neutral term is stay-at-home parent. Stay-at-home mom is distinct from a mother taking paid or unpaid parental leave from her job. The stay-at-home mom is forgoing paid employment in order to care for her children by choice or by circumstance. A stay-at-home mother might stay out of the paid workforce for a few months, a few years, or many years.
Many mothers find that their choice to be at home is driven by a complex mix of factors, including their understanding of the science of human development in the context of contemporary society.[1][2][3][4] They are also likely to consider their values, desires and instincts.[5][6] Some mothers are driven by circumstances: a child's special needs and/or medical condition may require great amounts of time, care and attention;[7] the family may lack affordable, quality childcare;[8] a family residing in a rural area may find it impractical to travel for childcare.[9] Other mothers may prefer and desire to stay at home with their children but must work out of the home to make an income to support the family.[10]
The stay-at-home mother's role entails physical, emotional and cognitive labor. This work is not exclusive to stay-at-home mothers; mothers who earn income still take on much of this labor as well. Fathers may share some of these responsibilities. While a mother may do the physical work of preparing meals, running errands and grocery shopping, cleaning the home, doing laundry, and providing care to her child or children, she also often anticipates her family's needs, identifies ways to satisfy them, makes decisions and monitors progress.[11] She plans the daily meals, outings and activities, baths, naps and bedtime. She not only provides physical care through a child's illness, she consults medical professionals as necessary. She also often takes the lead in managing routine medical and dental appointments, thinking about and planning time together with extended family, and planning for holidays and special occasions. Other tasks may include researching, hiring, and managing outside help including house cleaners, repairmen, or tutors and babysitters.
There is no term that has popularly replaced stay-at-home mom or stay-at-home mother. At-home mothers are diverse; they range across the spectrum of characteristics such as age, economic status, educational and career achievements, political and religious beliefs, and more.[12]
Definition
editAt-home mothers exist throughout the world. However, determining the number of at-home mothers is difficult. Some mothers earn income but don't report it.[13] Some mothers who consider themselves "at home" are counted as "working mothers" due to the definition of "employed person."[14] In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed, in 2021, that labor force participation of mothers with children under 18 years of age was 71.2%, leaving 28.8% to be mothers with children under 18 outside of the labor force.[15] These mothers who are outside of the labor force are otherwise known as stay-at-home mothers. They are not considered part of the labor force because they are not employed for pay nor are they unemployed, meaning available and searching for paying work.[16]
The definition of employed person by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is this:
"Employed persons are all those who, during the survey reference week, (a) did any work at all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm; or (c) worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family."[16]
By this definition, a mother could have worked just one hour and would be considered a working parent for statistical purposes, yet that mother may consider herself to be a stay-at-home mother because that is what she did for the vast majority of her time.[17][14]
Economy
editFollowing the industrial revolution, when women began to work outside of the home,[18] mothers had the job of educating children to be productive members of the labor market.[19] Such was essential "to the development of a vibrant capitalist economy."[19]
The work of stay-at-home mothers is not included in calculations of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).[20] When the GDP was first developed in the early 1930s, "its calculations were limited to the total monetary value of goods and services that were sold," leaving out intangibles like "improvements in surgical techniques, the value of clean water, or the care provided by a family member."[19] Much of the unpaid work done by stay-at-home mothers was excluded from the measure. As Ann Crittenden points out in her book "The Price of Motherhood," this results in "absurdities" where for example a nurse bottle feeding a baby is included in the GDP but a mother doing the same thing is not. Another source points out: "The world of work has holistically dominated and been valued over the world of care."[21]
Worldwide, the unpaid work of caregiving is worth $10.8 trillion a year and done mostly by girls and women.[22] When nations and global aid organizations make economic decisions based only on paid work, they often have unintended negative impacts on unpaid caregivers.[23][24] Perpetuating a false dichotomy between "at home" and "working" results in family policies that exclude millions of families.[25] Scholars and advocates for at-home mothers and for unpaid caregiving call for change in everything from how "work" is defined and measured to how economies are structured.[26][27] For example, in "Care: The Highest Stage of Capitalism," Premilla Nadasen reveals the inequities of the for-profit care economy. She points to the essential human ethic of caregiving and the elements of joy and community-building that constitute a caring society.[28]
Advocacy groups
editGlobal and regional organizations are advocating for the interests of stay-at-home mothers and others who do unpaid domestic labor and care work. Mothers at Home Matter represents mothers and fathers in the UK and internationally, working for an "economic level playing field."[29] In Europe, 19 organizations campaign together as FEFAF (Fédération Européenne Des Femmes Actives En Famille / European Federation of Parents and Carers at Home). This group has said: "Unpaid care should be equally valued, protected and recognised on a human, social and economic level."[30] In the U.S., Family and Home Network campaigns for inclusive family policies that would benefit all families, equitably supporting all care.[25] The Global Women's Strike and Women of Colour GWS issued an open letter to governments: "We demand a care income across the planet for all those, of every gender, who care for people, the urban and rural environment, and the natural world."[31] More than 100 organizations globally signed on to the letter.[32] Reports on government programs, as well as analyses of policy proposals, illuminate the need to recognize and support at-home parents and caregivers.[33][34][35]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Narvaez, Darcia (2014). Neurobiology and the development of human morality: evolution, culture, and wisdom. The Norton series on interpersonal neurobiology. New York London: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-70655-0.
- ^ "Key Concepts – Science of Child Development". Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Garner, Andrew; Yogman, Michael (August 1, 2021). "Preventing Childhood Toxic Stress: Partnering With Families and Communities to Promote Relational Health". Pediatrics. 148 (2). doi:10.1542/peds.2021-052582. PMID 34312296.
- ^ "Why Early Relational Health Matters". Nurture Connection. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ de Marneffe, Daphne (May 14, 2019). Maternal Desire: On Children, Love, and the Inner Life. Scribner. ISBN 978-1-5011-9827-4.
- ^ "Kindred World". kindredworld.org. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Weaver, Meaghann; Nuemann, Marie; Lord, Blyth; Wiener, Lori; Lee, Junghyae; Hinds, Pamela (December 1, 2020). "Honoring the Good Parent Intentions of Courageous Parents: A Thematic Summary from a US-Based National Survey". Children. 7 (12): 265. doi:10.3390/children7120265. PMC 7760659. PMID 33271834.
- ^ Gould, Elise; Blair, Hunter (January 15, 2020). Who's paying now? : The explicit and implicit costs of the current early care and education system (Report). Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Colyer, J.; National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services (2023). Childcare Need and Availability in Rural Areas (PDF) (Report). Retrieved April 9, 2024.
- ^ brightestsunshine (November 27, 2021). "How can I be a SAHM? I can't afford it..." whattoexpect.com (Forum post). Everyday Health. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Daminger, Allison (2019). "The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor". American Sociological Review. 84 (4): 609–633. doi:10.1177/0003122419859007.
- ^ Hakim, Catherine (September 1, 2004). Key Issues in Women's Work: Female Diversity and the Polarisation of Women's Employment. Routledge-Cavendish. ISBN 978-1-904385-16-5.
- ^ Davis, Lisa (2024). Housewife: Why Women Still Do It All And What To Do Instead. New York: Legacy Lit. pp. XVIII. ISBN 978-1-5387-2288-6.
- ^ a b Family and Home Network. "Statistics on Mothers and Work: Setting the Record Straight" (Web page). Durham, NC: Author. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (April 27, 2022). "Labor force participation of mothers and fathers little changed in 2021, remains lower than in 2019". The Economics Daily. Washington, DC: Author. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Employment Characteristics of Families News Release – 2021 A01 Results (Report). Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Tubbs, Anna Malaika. How Moms Shape The World. TED. Retrieved May 6, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ "The World of Barilla Taylor: One Mill Girl's Experience in Lowell". Lowell, Massachusetts: Tsongas Industrial History Center. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ a b c Crittenden, Ann (2010). The Price of Motherhood: Why the Most Important Job in the World is Still the Least Valued. Picador. 10th Anniversary Edition: pages 65-66.
- ^ "Household Production". bea.gov. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Reid Boyd, Elizabeth; Letherby, Gayle, eds. (July 2014). Stay-At-Home Mothers: Dialogues and Debates. Bradford, Ontario: Demeter Press. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-927335-44-4.
- ^ "Not all gaps are created equal: the true value of care work" (Web page). Oxfam International. May 25, 2022. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Himmelweit, Susan (2002). "Making Visible the Hidden Economy: The Case for Gender-Impact Analysis of Economic Policy". Feminist Economics. 8 (1): 49–70. doi:10.1080/13545700110104864. ISSN 1354-5701.
- ^ Butt, Myrah Nerine; Shah, Saleha Kamal; Yahya, Fareeha Ali (September 1, 2020). "Caregivers at the frontline of addressing the climate crisis". Gender & Development. 28 (3): 479–498. doi:10.1080/13552074.2020.1833482. ISSN 1355-2074.
- ^ a b Myers, Catherine H. (February 12, 2024). "Campaign for Inclusive Family Policies" (Web page). Durham, NC: Family and Home Network. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "Revaluing Care in the Global Economy – Global Perspectives on Metrics, Governance, and Social Practices". revaluingcare.org. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ "The Center for Partnership Systems". centerforpartnership.org. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Nadasen, Premilla (2023). Care: The highest stage of capitalism. Chicago: Haymarket Books. ISBN 978-1-64259-966-4. OCLC 1405607227.
- ^ "Mothers At Home Matter". mothersathomematter.com. May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
- ^ "Fédération Européenne Des Femmes Actives En Famille: About Us". Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Global Women's Strike (March 27, 2020). "Open letter to governments – a Care Income Now!". Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Global Women's Strike (January 23, 2021). "Endorsers to the Open Letter to Governments – A Care Income Now!". Retrieved May 6, 2024.
- ^ Minoff, Elisa; Coccia, Alex (March 14, 2024). Strategies to Compensate Unpaid Caregivers: A Policy Scan (PDF) (Report). Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Social Policy.
- ^ The Center for Social Justice; Public First (October 31, 2022). Parents Know Best: Giving Families a Choice in Childcare (PDF) (Report). Westminster, London: The Center for Social Justice.
- ^ Tanmoy, Goswami; Rothschild, Hannah; Davidi, Charlotte, eds. (January 30, 2024). "The wellbeing issue: What does wellbeing mean for parents and other caregivers?". Early Childhood Matters. No. 132. The Hague: Van Leer Foundation. Retrieved May 6, 2024. Also available as a PDF.