Appreciation for the Working Mom
Mom leaves for work in the morning, but not before she’s taken care to make sure kids have breakfast, are clothed and have lunch and school books ready.
When she arrives back home in the evening she’s already worked an 8-10 hour professional day. She puts on her Mom hat; cooks dinner, cleans up, helps kids with homework, maybe does the laundry, puts kids to bed and finishes her household chores. Hopefully somewhere in there Dad helps out.
Though for the most part, Mom shoulders a lot of the burden of the household. So for the Mom that chooses to hold onto a career the balancing act can become a bit overwhelming.
Three Ways to Show Mom that You Love Her
- Lend a hand. Mom will be surprised to find you’ve cleaned your room or done your homework before she gets home from work. Maybe you can help with the laundry or start dinner for her. Help Mom with smaller kids and get family pets fed and cared for.
- Listen to Mom. Mom has problems, too. She has bad days and sometimes needs a caring ear. Ask her what she does at work. Ask her if she had a good day.
- Affirm Mom’s dual role. Working Mom’s often feel as though they are neglecting one or both of their roles. Make sure you verbally support Mom. Show her you value her work at home and that you respect her for her job as well.
Value of a Working Mom
Salary.com recently took a stab at theorizing the monetary value of a working Mom. The report not only concluded that outside the home a Mom works on the average of 50 hours a week, but that her all around duties as mother included janitor, driver, housekeeper, day care, psychologist, cook, computer operator, and CEO among a few others. This all adds up to an annual theoretical salary of over $85,000 and that’s just for the at-home part of the working Mom’s work.
This is all a best-case scenario. Working Moms are often besieged by an array of other factors that all wreak havoc with her personal time, energy and self-esteem. Children may have special needs, she may be a solitary caregiver or have multiple children.
Motherhood Transcends Job Duty
What is a definite is that Motherhood precludes all other things in life. It seems that no matter how tired or stressed-out Mom is after a day in the office, she instantly and instinctually migrates back into her at-home role as chief caregiver.
