June 6, 2011
Slammed by a Working Mom

Dear Dr. Laura,

Today I got verbally slammed by a working mother. I'm a SAHM of a three year old boy and I got into an argument with a family member about how my son spends his weekdays. This person insisted that my son wasn't be adequately "socialized", even though I explained that I'm part of a SAHM group that has activities practically every day. She said that I was setting him up to be teased at school because the other kids would call him a "Mama's Boy" since, apparently, all he ever does is spend time with me. Then, she actually had the nerve to tell me that I need to "get a life" outside of the home before I do any irreversible damage to my son.

She then proceeded to tell me that she "has" to work because her family "needs" the money.

Enough! Seriously, I'm so tired of hearing this from working moms! Let's be real, shall we? My son gets far more "socialization" than any day care kid because I take him on adventures! We go apple picking, swimming, library....and where do day care kids go? Oh right, DAY CARE! One building, all day long.

I'm also tired of hearing that Moms "have" to work. My parents were dirt poor when they got married. My dad went to night school while working full time and my mom skipped going to college so she could stay home with me during the day then go to work at night.

I think you put it best in your book, In Praise of SAHM (which I reread the "Naysayers" chapter after this argument), "SAHMs are not SAHMs because they are lucky, stupid, lazy, weak, scared, useless, spoiled, frightened, or any other condescending description." Exactly!

THANK YOU for helping to give us SAHM a voice! While I couldn't change my family member's mind, I'm reassured to know that you are out there, supporting all of us SAHMs and being the public cheerleader we need!

A loyal listener and PROUD SAHM!

Nicole

Posted by Staff at 6:00 AM