Are you hot Essays - Family, Home Economics, Human Development

"Are you hot? Are you cold? Are you wearing that? Where's your books and your lunch and your homework at? Grab your coat and your gloves and your scarf and hat. Don't forget; you got to feed the cat!" (1) Anita Renfroe wrote these catchy words for the song "Momisms", sung to the familiar tune of the William Tell Overture. Her words best describe a typical day of mayhem through the eyes of a mother. Mothers who stay at home know that at times, their lives can be discombobulating. Despite the chaos, stay-at-home mothers get the tremendous responsibility of only having one chance of raising their children in such a way that makes a difference in their children's lives and in society. Throughout history, society has looked upon the male as the breadwinner: the one expected to work and support the family. The mother has been viewed as the nurturer: the one to stay home and raise the children. During the 1960's, women wanted more rights, power, and the ability to get higher paying jobs. Women were given this right so they expressed this new found freedom by going to work outside of the home. As women sought employment, their children were left to the care of babysitters and day care workers. Because society has redefined the role of a mother to be one who is an important element in the workforce, the loss of the mother in the home has led to the decline of the family unit, and thus, to society. This forfeiture has created a generation for whom social morals and values are not as important as they once were. Perhaps this is due to a working mother being absent from the home where she is unable to personally instill these ethical standards in her children, thus leavin g her children to receive their value system from strangers. "Society truly does begin at home", asserts Sibyl Niemann, so, in order to return to a culture with better morals and values, the importance of the role of the stay at home mother should be restored. (2) In this way, stay at home mothers can improve society. It is disappointing when mothers are devalued for staying at home to raise their children. Richard Lowry states, "There is something valuable in a mother's caring for her own child." (4) In general, no one can take care of your child in the same way his or her mother would. A mother's care is usually superior to daycare since she naturally wants what is best for her child. "According to a non-partisan Public Agenda survey in 2000, roughly 80 percent of parents with children five and younger say a stay-at-home parent is best able to give children the "affection and attention they need."" (qtd. in Lowry 4) A mother's individual care can also curb the aggression that is evident in day care centers. "A study done by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), reports that, kids in non-maternal care tend to be associated with qualities such as "gets in lots of fights," "cruelty," "explosive behavior," "talking too much," "argues a lot," and "demands a lot of attention."" (qtd. in Lowry 1) Teachers who work in a preschool environment, like my daughter, are frustrated with how badly the children usually behave. Workers in day care are governed by strict rules which prevent disciplining children the way one can do at home. This causes a disregard and loss of respect for others because many children grow up thinking they can do what they want. Today, many of the younger generation act like they are owed something. In the workplace, it is shocking to see the way they treat others with their degrading manners and think there is nothing wrong with their behavior. They a lso tend to have lazy work ethics and "cop an attitude" when asked to do anything extra. This makes it difficult for many employers to find hard working and respectful employees. It is important to note that not all children in daycare grow up to be aggressive and unproductive adults. Even though many women in the work force find raising children to be a very difficult task which leaves them feeling lonely and bored, they do a