The price on the value of stay-home moms has been much deliberated in the news lately.
As one myself or soon to be as I wave goodbye to my career to stay home and care for Jack, I can only say it’s ridiculous to monetise this vocation or add labels to women who choose to do so. If you must do so, why not place a higher value too on grandparents who do the same, or the young maids who do so without training for someone not of their kin.
All stay-home moms want is the recognition of how much we have given up to raise our children and that we should not be penalised for being selfish (or compared with NS men - hello, mandatory!), be considered without economic value, or any of the sillyisms we have heard recently for the simple act of placing our children before our careers because we think our children are worth it.
From my research, all the evidence for a happy, confident, successful, and well-adjusted adult points to a babyhood and childhood where Mom (or at the very least, an invested caregiver) has been (omni)present, interested in him and what he does, cherishes him, holds him often, and loves him unconditionally. As parents, we all do what we believe is best for our children. This is what I believe is best for him.
And this is what I want for Jack. Not necessarily to have the best scores in school, to be a super athlete, or even to become a professional and make tons of money, but to be confident in who he is and in the choices he makes in life, and to know that no matter what bad things happen out in the world, his family loves him unconditionally for simply being him.
Mephala is a strange and rather interesting human fascinated by 
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