There was a story in the Kairos Journal (http://www.kairosjournal.org/) a couple of months ago that caught my attention. I printed it then, and just now found it again – my desk is not the image of neatness and efficiency you might think!In the article it stated that more and more women were leaving the workplace, choosing instead to stay at home with their children. Not just average moms, but the tops in their classes,very bright women. Honestly, I was very glad to heart that. I may offend some career women, and I certainly understand the necessity of both partners in a marriage having to work to make ends meet, but on the other hand, I know that families are not as strong when both partners are out of the home, and day care centers raise the children.
So this trend made feel a little glad. It was interesting though, that not all felt as I did. The article quoted Peter Salovey, dean of Yale College, who is troubled by this trend. As the article quotes, he seems to believe that unemployed mothers are unimaginative. He said, “So few students seem to be able to think outside the box; so few students seem to be able to imagine a life for themselves that isn’t constructed along traditional gender roles.” He may be overstating the issue, as roughly 75% percent of moms are still in the work force.
But the percentage is dropping, it has dropped 4% in the last five years. And new mothers are waiting longer to reenter the workforce after having children, with a 4% decrease in the number of mothers in the workforce with children under age one.
I know that it’s a difficult decision to stay home to raise your children. Whether the mother or the father does it, it’s an honorable task, and we would be wise to care less about what other people think, and instead, know that it can be the best option for the child, and may result in a stronger family.
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