I suppose a man who works his normal 60 hours a week in marine construction with experience in electrical, plumbing, carpentry, a/c, heating, computers, finance, insurance and does a little housekeeping, cooking, yard maintenance, painting, roofing, gardening, babysitting, pet care, ought be worth what??? 10, 15 figures a year!  If a sahm would stay at home and put the kids on the bus for school how much could be saved in car payments, insurance, fuel,  take out, child care, house cleaning, on and on?  More than that 12 bucks an hour at the office I'll bet.

guess you ladies married for money.....you know the ALPHA MALE that earns ans earns and never does a damn thing....in my house the chores are split evenly.....but then again I only make 100k a year......far too little for most women

You guys are really bored. What a pathetic waste of time! This was the dumbest article I've ever seen. Enough said!

Okay, I rarely reply to any of these blogs, but I can't let this one go...SAHM's work hard.  Working mom's work hard.  SAHD's work hard.  Working dad's work hard.  It is unfair and not said with any knowledge or factual information to say a cleaning person or a nanny can relpace anything a mom/dad does.  Our kids need their parents to be more involved in their lives.  If more parents were willing to put their own selfish desires away and focus on their children lots of things in our society would be better.  Do not think that replacing time spent and love shown with a material "gift" or "reward" is in any way what a child wants or needs.  Take away one expensive extracirricular activity, and spend the time walking through the neighborhood with your child talking to them, not at them.  You will be amazed at the connection you will build.  Intead of spending $40 of the money you are making working overtime on an unneeded toy, come home and have dinner with your family, play a game, laugh together.  Your children will remember that long after the toy is lost or broken or taking up space in the bottom of their toy box.  Love your children more, hug them often and  laugh with them everyday, they will appreciate it far more than any toy, gift, or reward you will ever pay for.

That Grateful guy is an idiot.  If you can't clean the house, do the laundry, grocery shop, etc, then maybe u should move back with your mommy.  SAHM are a joke!!!!!!  did they go to college? what are the deadlines, credentials, etc.  Anyone can be a parent.  SAHM are an excuse cause they can't hold a job so they stay at home to be lazy and do nothing.

YOU GO GRATEFUL HUSBAND!!! FINALLY A WISE PERSON AMONG US.

Sara why are you having a child! Iam sure your child will enjoy the little time off you will be giving spending with it before you give it to someone else to raise!

I think being a SAHM or SAHD is one of the hardest jobs in the world, it never ends and you never get a break.  However, with taxes and the AMT and commuting costs, it is hard to justify working unless you are paid a lot.  there is always the intangible benefits of really knowing and understanding your child, I've done it every way imaginable, full time part time and stay at home, there is no easy solution,  I was happier with more balance when I worked part time but probably lost money on the deal since I had childcare and a cleaner and more convenience food.

I think that most the people that have never been stay at home moms have no idea what we do. Sara is in for a rude awakening when she has someone else raising her child, but who am I to dictate what others do? Sara, having a baby should change your life. Why are you having a child only to have someone else raise it? Mothers choose to stay at home because they made the choice (ideally) to have a child. Some stay at home moms don't have degrees or certificates, but compare a child that has a stay at home mom verses one that has a nanny or goes to day care. My two year old knows her colors, shapes, alphabet, and numbers to 20. That is due to a stay at home mom that has the time and ability to teach her child. The children of the world today are less educated and generally less civil because parents have other people raise their kids. These posts are evidence that parents just don't care about rearing their children anymore, and we wonder why the world is the way it is these days.

Riculous? You boast about your salary and how hiring a 'nanny/housekeeper'-will solve your problems-pity  that your future children will be running to their nanny/housekeeper rather than you, their mother. And you say that with so much pride. How proud you must be. And as for psychologist-well when you are comforting your own child and smoothing away their hurts the best you can then maybe you'll see where the 'pyschologist'  or even 'guidence counselor' term comes into play.