Mothers Should Stay Home With Their Children

The question of whether mothers should stay at home with their children is hotly discussed. Many children in most countries perform poorly in terms of opioid use, school success, and suicide rates (Desmecht and Hans 88-89). According to the patterns, the children are losing. One big cause of the overall failure, according to behaviorists, is that mothers now do not spend as much time with their children as they did a few decades earlier (Benson and Marshall 237-238). To stop these and other mistakes, mothers should stay at home with their son. It is far better for young ones if the mothers remain at home to look after them from birth and after school as they grow than if their mothers go to job and send them to nannies. Liben and Richard assert that children’s intellectual development depends on the attention they get from adults during the first 3 to 4 years (882-883). Those opposed to this view might claim that there are modern day cares where children can also develop intellectually. Although this is a valid argument, they seem to overlook the fact that it is hard for one to find a day care where caretakers pay attention to the children like full-time mothers would do. Mothers should also note that consigning their children to day cares can make them develop weaker than desirable attachment to them or even develop heightened noncompliance and aggressive behavior.

Moreover, the proportion of mothers in the labor force worldwide has declined significantly over the last decade. According to the World Bank, the global labor force comprised of 40.128% of women (para. 1). However, the percentage declined continuously to about 39.376% by the end of 2016 (The World Bank para. 1). The trend can be attributed to the evolution of motherhood as an increasing number of mothers decide to stay with their children. Therefore, mothers should spend more time with their children at home.

Some opponents contend that the possibility of mothers taking care of their children at home and still provide them with the necessary financial support depends on whether or not there is a reliable financial support network close to the mother’s family. This is a sound argument because if the mother has no source of money, she is forced to look for one. Nonetheless, the mother should weigh between the job and the harm done to the children due to lack of bonding as the children grow if left to care givers. Additionally, children need to know their mothers, and this can only be assured by giving them quality time with their mothers.

The entire society also benefits from giving children the best start in life (Ross 35). As such, the government should allow women to stay at home with their children. The governments can do this by giving more generous benefit payment and alter the pensions systems to avoid punishing women who make the positive decision to stay at home with their children after delivery.

Those opposed to this point of view often claim that most women have no choice regarding whether to stay at home or work because they are single parents, poor, or even both. As a result, they are forced to find jobs to earn enough money to provide for their families. The other argument is that regardless of the benefits the children gain by staying with their parents in early development ages, childhood poverty has lasting detrimental impacts on the children (Maholmes and Rosalind 1). These are sound and carefully searched assertions which need to be considered. However, it is noteworthy that this does not necessarily mean that mothers stay at home even when they have no financial support. The main argument is that there are many mothers already financially stable but do not spend time at home with their children in early ages. Instead, they take them to day cares. Given the negative impacts of delegating the duty of caring for children to nannies, they should consider staying at home with their children.

Arguably, finances play a leading role in mothers’ decision whether to stay at home or not. Child care is costly and can take nearly every dollar of mothers’ paycheck (Duncan para. 2). Based on this view, if an individual adds up the paycheck and begins taking out the child care and work wardrobe, she might be left with some dollars to use. The statement is true especially if the mother has more than one child and needs night care or after-school care (Duncan para. 2). In other words, it is cheaper for the mothers to stay with the children than to work.

In conclusion, mothers should make a positive decision to care for their children at home, especially in early ages. Children require attention and parental care for intellectual development. The current trend in the labor force is a clear indication that a significant number of mothers have realized the need to stay at home with their children. As such, others should make the same decision thus bringing up healthy and well-behaved people in the society.

Works Cited

Benson, B. Janette, and Marshall M. Haith. Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Early Childhood. London: Academic, 2009. Print.

Desmecht, Eddy and Hans Grietens. In the Best Interests of Children and Youth: International Perspectives. Leuven, Belgium: Univ. Press, 2005. Print.

Duncan, Apryl. 10 Reasons Mom Should Stay Home with the Kids. The Spruce, 2 Jul. 2017, https://www.thespruce.com/reasons-stay-at-home-mom-3129003. Accessed 13 Sept. 2017.

Liben, S. Lynn, and Richard M. Lerner. Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science: Volume 2., 2015. Print.

Maholmes, Valerie, and Rosalind B. King. The Oxford Handbook of Poverty and Child Development. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

Ross, M. Susan. American Families Past and Present: Social Perspectives on Transformations. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Univ. Press, 2006. Print.

The World Bank. Labor Force, Female (% of total Labor Force), The World Bank Group, 2017, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.TOTL.FE.ZS. Accessed 13 Sept. 2017.