Stay at Home Parents Vs. Working Parents

Joyce Bullock

Stay At Home Parents vs. Working Parents

COM/170

August 7, 2013

Alfred Chavez

Stay at Home Parent(s) Vs. Working Parent(s) their equal yet very different struggles with working in and out of the home. Which role is more important? Which parent is more valuable? Are the parents considering the wellbeing of the children? These are just a few of the questions parents struggle with everyday. Nurturing, quality time, and being a provider are the essentials to a child needs. Is the stay at home parent more important than the working parent? That is for you to decide after weighing the pros and cons of the stay at home parent vs. the working parent.

Raising a family and having a sense of individuality while maintaining structure and balance with the family as a whole is a task and an advantage of a stay at home parent. Parents that stay home with the child have the advantages of spending time with the family and witnessing major milestones such as first steps, first words, and potty training. Parents that stay at home also have more of an opportunity to bond with their child as they grow into adolescents and adult hood. The children are not the only responsibilities of the stay at home parent; shopping for household goods, cooking, and cleaning are also daily chores for a stay a home parent as well as teaching the morals and values for the child or children grow and live by.

Being a stay at home parent has its disadvantages because the parent lacks time and social interaction with other adults. While the parent may love having the extra time with the children, having personal time to interact socially with other adults is vital to the stay at home parent. The parent who stays home to raise the child has put his or her life and personal dreams on hold to raise a family therefore giving the stay at home parent a disadvantage. Over time the stay at home parent may lose sight of who they are because of a nonstop commitment to the family.

Nurturing is a constant issue that the stay at home parent and working parent deal with on an ongoing basis.

Stay at home parents has the time to nurture the children and develop relationships with them, whereas the working parent does not have the time to nurture because majority of their time is spent at work. The advantage the stay at home parent has is a close relationship with the child, knowing the child's character and personality as well as the likes and dislikes of the child. The disadvantages the stay at home parent has when it comes to nurturing is the child can began to feel like the parent is overbearing. The working parent's advantage to nurturing is they can take surprise trips with the children which helps to develop a bond and they are spending quality time as well. The working parent may tend to feel guilty because of the lack of quality time spent and less nurturing of the child further giving them a disadvantage and putting more strain on the family. Although the working parent is the main provider outside the home how they feel and their connection to the children is equally important.

The stay at home parent and the working parent are similar in providing needs for the children and the household. The working parent goes to work and provides financially for the household,