Advantages of Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom

When I was still in school, I told myself "I will never be a stay-at-home mom!" My rationale before was--- if I have to be confined in the house taking care of  the kids, of  my husband and the whole household, I'd rather stop studying now. If you come to think of it, it seems that becoming a home-based mother would simply imprison you and waste all your efforts to finish your college or even post-graduate degrees! Becoming a home-based person doesn't really make sense to an ambitious woman like me! By the way, I am a believer that one should be ambitious enough to reach a certain goal that is why I don't really mind calling myself ambitious. Now going back to the topic --- despite my earlier view, I am now a stay-at-home mother and I could say, this isn't easy for me.

I will discuss more about it in my future blog posts. But as of now let me tell you the perks of becoming a  stay-at-home mom:

Closer bond with your children

While becoming a stay-at-home mom does NOT guarantee a closer bond with the kids, it sure does add to the probability of developing a closer bond. For obvious reason, it does need dedication and "ample time" to develop intimacy in any kind of relationship. Sad to say, more often than not, work outside the home causes us to lose huge "quantity" of time, and the stress brought by such arrangement can cause us to lose "quality" of time needed to enhance our relationship with our kids. Of course, there would be a lot a ways to cover up for the lost time we spend away from home. In fact, no matter how cliche' it may sound, it is not really  about the "amount" of time spent but the "quality" of time given to our loved ones. But as I have stated earlier, being at home DOES INCREASE the PROBABILITY of spending more quality time with our precious ones.

Higher sense of security 
Since being at home gives you more physical time with the kids, better supervision in their play, studies, and their daily progress is one of the best rewards. As a parent, you feel more secured with how your kids are being taken cared of especially when you are hands-on in providing all their needs. Though I stay at home, I do not personally take care of them, my kids have their own nannies. But even then, I feel more secured since I know what is actually happening in the house. I may not be the very person fixing their milk, or giving them bath, but I am sure that they are eating on time, and that they are clean and safe in countless ways.

It is not only us parents that feel safe. By instinct, the kids feel a higher sense of security simply at the sight of their parents. Just like a baby who stops from crying when he sees her mom or dad, that is also what most kids feel when they know that someone who truly loves them is just "in another room". This sense of security that starts from home is usually reflected when they mingle in the outside world.


It is worth noting that in two studies published in 2003, one conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the other by the Institute of Child Development of the University of Minnesota, found that kids who spent all day in daycare had higher levels of stress and more aggression than kids cared for at home.


The above statement are from a formal study conducted. In addition to that, my personal experience somehow supports the outcome of such research. In 2000, I bore my first child, months after, I had to go back to school, then, work outside the home to earn a living. In 2009, I finally decided to stay at home. My three other younger kids seem to be the greatest beneficiaries of such move.

My kids went on stage impromptu during a call of an emcee in a mall to join a game. My kids are: Sheryn, the girl in blue shirt and checkered shorts (2nd child), and the youngest girl in the picture wearing pink sleeveless and gray pants (3rd Child) named Ryna.

The picture above was taken when our family went to a mall to eat out. It so happened that a stage was set -up near the restaurant of our choice. So while waiting for our orders, we went out to watch the program until the emcee made call to all the kids watching to come up the stage. My son, was about the age of the kid in yellow shirt. We weren't able to push him to come up the stage. While my two younger girls even volunteered to join despite the crowd watching. (oh, by the way, we didn't bring my youngest child at that time, so she's excused right? hehehe..)