Hard Choice to make : Working mum or stay home mum?

 

I was invited to a  Forum for Women,over the weekend. I had expected something mundane and typical but there was a heated discussion over being a working or stay home mum. I had not given it much thought till now.

Most of the single ladies opted to be working mums, no man would settle for a ''liability'' and it's good to be financially empowered and independent, they argued, while the married women preferred to be stay home mums till their kids get to a certain age then they can consider working. I think it all comes down to which option has the greater advantage.
There isn’t a mom around who hasn’t looked at someone else’s work life choices and questioned her own decisions. I know it can be torture for working mums to leave their kids at the mercy of nannies and get home late from work all done in.
These women are far from alone in having days when they feel conflicted about their choices, according to a new study of more than 3,700 mothers prepared by Ernst & Young for the Working Mother Research Institute. The survey shows that moms who work and moms who stay home are not so different—at least, not when it comes to guilt and worry. Roughly one third of all mothers, working or at home, say they often feel guilty about their contribution to the household. And nearly half (49 percent of working and 47 percent of stay-at-home moms) admit they are their own toughest critics. Female bankers are the most conflicted when it comes to working mums.
Men find it easy to say that women are multi-dimensional and have the innate ability to  juggle several things at the same time. Is there anything like a superwoman? 
In the first three years of life, a baby's developing brain doubles in size. Every tickle, every warm chuckle, every waggle of a toy is a mini-explosion of brain-power, joy and love that impacts on what happens in later years.

To understand the relationship between mother and baby, scientists have looked at the behaviour of the mother and the ways in which the baby responds.

Their work highlights the potential dangers of over-reliance on nursery care for under-threes and shows a baby's brain grows new structures in response to the love and caring firmness given during its first two years of life.

If you want to see a fascinating example of this in practice, go to YouTube and type 'Dr Edward Tronick + Still Face Experiment' into the search box.
It shows what happens when an attentive mum ceases to respond to her baby. It is a powerful warning of what can happen if an adult in charge of a baby doesn't really bother. You can see and hear the child's stress level rise within seconds.

And yet bills have to be paid and the kids welfare too. More women are going back to work in order to provide financial support to their spouses.

Making Peace With Our Choices
Guilt and worry are human—no one can ditch them altogether. We are not going to find a perfect ‘balance’ between home and life .Nor should your choice be hinged  on what others do. I think women should be encouraged to ask themselves about the wise decisions they make on a daily basis and to find the integrity to say, ‘I’m standing inside being the kind of professional and the kind of mom I want to be.

Which is better?stay home or working mum? Guys which do you prefer?