I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay home with kids. My career was everything to me. I loved the status, the money and the respect I received. My husband is supportive and we work well as a team. He had been laid off his high paying job and took something else until things shook out. I wasn’t sure I wanted to bring our salary down that much but after taking a financial biblical study we decided, with lots of prayer, that me staying home would be ok.
My friends and family were shocked. “But you love your job!” they’d say. “I thought you weren’t really wanting to be a mom,” commented others. Well, my heart changed. It happens, right? Yes, I felt like a fish out of water. I didn’t know what I was doing and all the parenting books contradicted each other. But let me encourage you if you want to stay home. There are 5 main reasons staying home worked for us.
Adventures Abound
Staying home was more difficult than I would have guessed but I do not regret it at all. I trusted God, and He has guided me through so many adventures. Our schedule, ok my schedule, is way more open and we only have to get time off from one job to make things happen. Our adventures are not always big. Frequently we meet my husband for a picnic in the park during his lunch hour.
It Streamlines Your Lifestyle
When I was a working mom with 2 small children, I felt frazzled. It was tough to juggle my work schedule and my husband’s work schedule with drop offs and pickups from the day care. Working late was tough since I had to get my kids from day care by a certain time or pay exuberant fees. Staying home can make family life much more streamlined. You are available to take care of the kids when there are random school days off or a child is sick. You are available to drive to activities and appointments. Errands are easier to run during the day when stores and roads are not as busy. And to top it all off, you are more in control of the family schedule.
You Won’t Miss Milestones
When my husband was home for a year with the kids (after his work layoff), he did everything. He even took my oldest for her first haircut. For some reason I was so sad I missed it. When you are an at home parent, you’ll be there when they scrape their knee, have a tummy ache, or just feel down in the dumps. You’ll be there when they want to kick a ball, play a board game, or bake cookies. No need for Skype or daycare cams to see what your child is doing. You’re there, literally, every step of the way.
Teach Kids Critical Thinking
I strongly believe in critical thought processes and looking at both sides of literally ANY issue. Schools tend to teach one side so I taught my kids the other side whether I believed it or not. Some people believe this what do you think? I would show studies that contradicted what they learned. It was fun to see their minds open. My kids would go back to class and debate their teachers who really enjoyed their critical thinking and sometimes would email me that they loved my kids thinking process. In fact, my middle child just joined debate club. Critical thinking opens minds and allows for positive discussions instead of the divisiveness we see all around.
Bring God Back
Let’ face it, God is going away or rather we are pushing him out. There is less and less God in the schools. My youngest child noticed. In second grade another student claimed he was an atheist. She was so distraught by this she decided to start an I believe God club.
Remember that we parents are the biggest influence in our children’s lives. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 NRSV Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.
Proverbs 14:1 NRSV The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.
Some of us do not have the luxury to stay home and others of us really have to scrimp to make it work but I am here to help you navigate this beautiful journey and save you precious time. You really can balance faith, family and fun.
A friend once told me you can have it all, just not all at the same time. Remember that and you will go far!
so wise and true!