Tuesday, May 01, 2007

SAHMs vs Working Moms

So, I saw the first 10-15 minutes of Montel this morning before I turned the TV off. (I generally watch the news before the boys get up and active since we have a lax schedule right now) The show was called Mommy Wars and Montel was asking the questions of SAHM or working mom, breastfeeding or bottle feeding, and the other one I caught was spanking or no spanking. My questions go along the lines that I know they have a specific number of people in the audience that feel a certain way so I am wondering how our audience feels.

SAHM vs. Working Mom

SAHMs tend to say that it is their place to be at home and raise their children instead of the day care raising them. That it is important to the child to know that mom is there and available.

Working moms tend to say that they are meeting their child's needs by providing for them and making the money so they can do sports and things. That it is important that kids learn that we have to be responsible and show our kids responsibility.

My take... I believe it is the mother's right to choose and that we should respect others decisions. My personal belief for myself is that I need to stay at home for my kids. I need to be home when they get home from school and I need to be home for the ones not yet in school. I don't want a daycare worker consoling my son when he falls and scrapes his knee. I want to be home with him. I want to be home when my daughter needs me to talk to because she has lost a friend or her boyfriend dumped her. But most importantly? I want to be home so I can spend time with my kids and in doing so I can teach them about God.

Breastfeeding vs. Bottle Feeding

Breastfeeding propaganda states that the breast is best and anything else is coming up short.

Bottle feeding is a near match and easier to do.

My personal belief? I have done both. Breastfeeding can be quite intimidating to a first time mom. While God did create women to be able to breast feed our babies, there are sometimes complications. I know personally with my youngest I had a blockage that was very painful. I chose to continue on because I felt it was better for the baby to push through the pain. With my oldest I was terrified to let her nurse so she was bottle fed. I believe that it is up to the mother. Some women do not produce enough milk for their babies and it puts undo stress on them. We should respect other's choices.

Spanking vs No Spanking

This is the obvious war one. There are those that say spanking is abuse and those that say it is ordained by the Bible (Spare the Rod Spoil the Child).

My personal belief is that there is a time and a place for spanking. It should be last resort after other methods have been tried. However, if you are going to spank you had better know the law regarding corporal punishment in your state and also the Children's Protective Services stance.

Depending on the state if you spank a child you could be arrested. The laws vary. Some say if you intentionally strike a child it is child abuse. Others say if you strike a child with an instrument (paddle, ruler, flyswatter, etc) that it is aggravated child abuse. I am pretty sure that all states in the US say if you leave a mark on the child it is abuse.

I personally believe that the government shouldn't tell us how to parent our children but in the same instance I also see the need.

If you spank, you are much more likely to "lose it" and hurt the child. It typically only happens once, but why put that risk there?

Have opinions? Comment. Let's hear from you.

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