5 Myths About Stay At Home Moms

“What do you do all day?”  It’s a question most Stay At Home Moms get at some point, whether it be from a spouse, family member, friend, or complete stranger.  To an outsider, being a SAHM seems like a pretty posh job.  You don’t have to get the kiddos to daycare and yourself to work on time. You can hang out in your sweats all day, veg out on oreos, and catch up on the latest episodes of Scandal on Netflix or your DVR.  Pretty sweet, right?

While all those things may or may not be true, there are several myths about SAHM’s that certainly aren’t. I’d like to address a few of those today!

5 myths about stay at home moms

Myth #1: You must not want a career.

While many moms stay at home simply because they love to do so (and bless all of you women who feel that way!), many more stay home either because they simply feel that is the best option for their children, or because the high cost of child care becomes prohibitive to them continuing to work. I know many women who have left promising and fulfilling careers for any one of these reasons. As any woman who has been out of the “workforce” for several years can tell you, it can be extremely difficult to get back in.  This is a sacrifice many women make in order to stay home with their children.

Myth #2: Your husband must make a lot of money.

While many families are fortunate enough to live comfortably on a single-income, there are many families who struggle and sacrifice to do so. For many families this means having older vehicles, smaller houses, staycations instead of traveling, shopping at secondhand stores, clipping coupons, etc. For whatever reason listed above, these families feel it is necessary to have one parent at home, and so make sacrifices to make it happen.

Myth #3: Your house must stay pretty clean.

BIGGEST MYTH OUT THERE!! If you’ve seen my post “It’s ok to Just Survive the Day,” you’ve seen the state my house is in most days. As my poor husband can attest, most days when he gets home it looks like a tornado has come through. My house was actually much cleaner when I worked full-time outside the home because my children were not home all day to tear it apart!

Myth #4: It must be nice to just lay around and watch t.v. all day.

While it is true that I am in my yoga pants most days, I rarely get a chance to sit…let alone lay down! With 2 kiddos under the age of 2, I usually spend my time making sure nobody falls off the table they just climbed up on, refereeing whose turn it is to play with the rocking horse, and making sure the youngest isn’t eating the dogs’ food.  If the t.v. IS on, it’s tuned to PBS or Disney Junior.  I mean, really…have you seen the shows they have on t.v. these days? The only non-kids channel I dare turn on is HGTV…it seems to be the only one that hasn’t been infiltrated by violence, sex, and/or foul language. (But that is an entirely different post.) Looks like the Netflix/DVR will have to wait until after the kiddos go to bed.

Myth #5: You must do a lot of Pinterest projects and cook a lot of homemade meals.

As much as I love Pinterest, it has become the downfall of motherhood.  While it can be a great resource to give you fun ideas to try and a way to spice up your weeknight dinner routine, it also can become a source of comparison and resentment.   There are a lot of extremely creative and crafty people in this world, but being a SAHM doesn’t automatically put you in this category.  I have hundreds of pins, but rarely do I have time to try them out.  Our “sensory time” is usually my youngest playing in the cereal he just dumped all over the floor before I get a chance to clean it up.  Art projects entail crayons and paper.  And frankly, dinner is often a frozen Pasquale’s pizza or ordered in because by 5:00 I’m just too tired to even think about making dinner!

Being a SAHM is a tough JOB, and is often one that is misunderstood.  However, for whatever reason a mother finds herself in this position, I think any one of them would tell you that for them it’s worth it.

Stay At Home Moms: are there any other myths you’ve heard about being a SAHM? Please share!

Work At Home Moms…stay tuned tomorrow for a post that’s all for you!!

Kaitlyn Swaim
Kaitlyn is the owner of Cedar Rapids Moms Blog and is an Iowa girl who has been married to her husband, Joshua, since 2007! She’s a busy work-at-home mama to their 5 children: 3 girls and 2 boys! A true Hawkeye, she graduated from the University of Iowa with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, something that comes in handy on a daily basis while trying to raise 5 kids! Her favorite things to do include spending time with her family, cheering on the Hawkeyes, reading a good book, shopping (of course!), and checking out all the activities the Corridor has to offer!

1 COMMENT

  1. Yes! And, may I add, once they all get into school…you can be just as busy as a sahm! This week alone we have 3 morning trips to school (15 minutes away) because of a forgotten geometry book, a parent meeting with a teacher, and an orthodontist appointment. Every week involves before-school club for one (ride to school required…bus arrives at school too late) and after school choir for another (in another town of course, because we’re rural)! My kids are not in a million activities but I can say yes to the few things they want to do, without the stress of wondering what my boss will think. I work my home-based business around my kids’ schedule, and I grocery shop and run errands while they are in school so when they come home, we don’t have to be running.

    Know that some moms whose kids are in school stay home because we feel it’s best for our kids. We’re still not sitting on the couch eating chocolate, although it is a little quieter around here these days! 🙂

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