Can we really have a job, a good life, and children at the same time? Can a child be raised by a single-income family? How do new parents decide whether to go to work or stay home with the kids?
The answer has never been clearer, says Kristie Tamsevicius, author of I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home. People are getting back to basics since September 11, 2001. People want to spend more time with their families at home because they are frustrated with their jobs. This desire has caused millions of parents to leave corporate America and start working from home.
Choosing whether to stay home with the kids or go back to work is one of the hardest choices you have to make. When it comes to money, it can be hard to switch to living on one income. Also, women who choose to stay at home often wonder if they are giving up their careers.
Parents who just had a baby are overwhelmed by all the costs that come with having a child, like buying baby gear, clothes, diapers, and medical bills. In fact, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says that it costs $13,400 a year to raise a child from birth to age 2. So how can families cut back and stay afloat with less money and these extra costs?
Most people believe that if both parents work, the family will have more money.
This isn't always true, though. When you add up the costs of working and paying for day care, you may not be getting ahead financially.
When child care costs, car costs, dry cleaning, and other work-related costs are taken into account, many people who work outside the home find that they don't make that much.
In reality, we trick ourselves into thinking that we need two incomes to make ends meet. It seems that when you make more money, you spend more, whether it's to keep up with the Jones' or to buy high-tech toys. When our income goes up, we don't save the extra money. Instead, we use it to improve our standard of living.
When both parents work, it can be hard on the family. Moms who work outside the home sometimes feel bad about wanting to do so. Then there's the issue of balance. It can be hard to deal with the stress of both work and home. It's hard to make meals, clean the house, and pay the bills while also taking the kids to soccer practise.
With our busy lives, we have to ask ourselves what we are teaching our kids.
Are we showing our kids that this is a normal and good way to live?
Will your kids learn the same values at daycare as you would?
No one will teach and love your kids like you do. Daycare will take care of your child's physical needs, but will they teach them the same morals and lessons you would? When a child at daycare picks on another child or fights over toys, does the daycare provider shape your child's personality the same way you would?
When moms stay at home, kids get a lot out of it. Moms can take care of their children with love. They are there to punish bad behaviour and teach the right way to act. Mothers can build strong bonds with their children by spending time with them. This bond gives the child a stronger sense of safety and well-being.
Kids also get other good things. Moms can give their kids better nutrition and a more varied diet. And when a mom spends time with her child alone, the child's mind is more stimulated.
How can moms learn to live on less money so they can stay home with their kids?
When you shop smart, you save money. Moms who want to save money cut coupons, look for sales, and buy in bulk. Many families are learning that it's better to live a simple life than to try to keep up with everyone else. By living on less, you can learn to enjoy the simple things in life. You teach your children that happiness is more important than material things.
Parents can have the best of both worlds if they work from home:
valuable time with family and extra money.
Statistics show that people who work today can't wait to leave the corporate world and start enjoying the benefits of working from home.
Working from home has many benefits, such as being your own boss, being flexible, having the best office space, not having to drive to work, having more control, spending more time with family, and the pure joy of making your own business and life.
Entrepreneurship offers excitement, stimulation, a challenge, and a new, powerful reality that is based on your choices. It gives single parents and families who are having trouble balancing work and family a choice. It lets dads stop working from 9 to 5 and stay home with their kids.
It gives people a second chance after they've been fired or kicked out of a big company. It gives people who can't live off of their retirement savings alone a new way to make money.
People with disabilities who have trouble getting jobs in the traditional workplace can make money with at-home jobs.
So, as a parent, you don't have to choose between working and staying at home. You can now have both a job and time with your kids.
