Stay At Home Mom part 3

Here are 5 aspects of being a SAHM that make it amazing and challenging.

1. Unrestricted face time with the kiddos.

Benefit: There is nothing like being able to spend great quality time with your children + There are endless opportunities to provide love (and discipline).

Challenge: Its hard to get a break, invest in self care, and develop social connections.

Tip: Utilize your resources for daily self care, weekly socializing (with or without kids), and time away from daily responsibilities (go on dates, take a walk, read a book)

2. Control of kids learning.

Benefit: If you love to learn, love to teach, or are very creative, this might be something that excites you. You don’t have to go “by the book” when it comes to your kids learning. EVERYTHING is a learning experience. Your littles get the benefit of customized experiences, that is always filled with lots of one-on-one attention.

Challenge: It can be anxiety provoking to keep up with what your child “should” know. It can be stressful when you have multiple children as well. And lets be real, teaching educationally just might not be your thing.

Tip: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Utilize the internet. There are TONs of developmental activities, lesson plans, videos, games, and apps available. I would recommend every 3-6 six months create some learning goals, just for you to review.

3. Flexibility.

Benefit: Your time is precisely what you make it. When you’re a stay at home mom, no one is standing over your shoulder telling you what to do or how to spend your day. You want to go the park? The splash pad? The library? Go for it! Not feeling too hot? Fine, stay at home and make it a movie day. You are FREE to pack or relax your day, how you see fit. You will have the freedom and power to schedule as you see fit.

Challenge: Some operate well with structure, others prefer free flow. Either way without accountability you could feel a lack of accomplishment. How did the day get away? What am I doing with my life? Am I really investing in my kids development? Am I doing too much? Am I not doing enough?

Tip: I like to google schedule ideas every now and again. It can give you age appropriate ideas of how to structure your time, which may help you with expectations of what to do with the time you have. Also, I really enjoy making seasonal bucket lists. Why not have fun!

4. The Community is diverse.

Benefit: You can literally find any kind of mom group. The introvert moms, the crunchy-all naturale-paraben free-moms, the baby wearing moms, the yoga moms, the mindful moms, the local moms, the fit moms, the moms that have memberships to everywhere. Facebook and IG are your FRIENDDDDDD.

Challenge: Online groups and meet ups tend to be very welcoming, however if you’re

not into that and prefer to meet people in person. Bridging the gap between stranger,

acquaintance and friend will require some courage to engage- at parks, libraries, story

times, coffee shops, grocery stores, pretty much any place you frequent as a mom.

Tip: Start very small: join a mom group on facebook, find a podcast, look up a meet up,

follow local hastags, go to that le leche meeting, or say hello/compliment a fellow mom. It all starts with “hello”

5. Financial Savings

Benefit: Day care costs range from $300 to $1,500 monthly. Enough said.

Challenge: The greatest challenge that greets the stay at home mom that was unprepared for this shift in career and job description is rooted in loss of identity and purpose. It can bring legit grief when you step away from a job. Employment can be a huge source of identify and purpose. Therefore saying good bye to or pushing pause on a career can be a big trigger.

Tip: Its easy to rejoice in the money saved from day care expenses. However if you are a mom that has struggled in the transition of careers, take some time to evaluate the meaning and significance in your role as a mom. If you are a number cruncher, it may help you to see the monetary value of the stay at home. You act as a in home nurse, teacher, nanny, cleaning services, and chef. Monetize that and I am SURE it will help you see the financial value of the stay at home mom.

Hope this helps.

If you have any other tips, pro's and con's, or ideas regarding being a stay at home mom. Please share below!