Press Release: No Apology Needed -- At-Home Moms Happy To Be ThereÝ May 1998

As Americans prepare to celebrate Mother's Day, the national non-profit organization Mothers At Home notes a new national trend -- today's at-home mother no longer feels the need to apologize for shifting gears and putting career goals on hold to raise her children.

Many find that there is a renewed appreciation for nurturing in today's society.  Recent studies on childhood brain development emphasize the importance of providing an enriching emotional and cognitive foundation in the early years of a child's life.  Further, a realization of the need for parents to spend generous amounts of time with their children through adolescence has been brought to the forefront.

"Today's mothers are the best educated and most accomplished of any generation of American women," says Heidi Brennan, former Public Policy Director of Mothers at Home.  "Having spent over two decades struggling with the issue of balancing family and work, these mothers are confidently forging new career/life paths that allow them to spend more time rearing their children.  Contrary to public misconceptions, the new at-home mother has discovered that nurturing her children is a worthy challenge and a rewarding opportunity."

Mothers today have a myriad of options, from at-home mothering to part-time work, and from home-based businesses to full-time jobs.  Mothers at Home notes that more than seven million women have chosen to leave the paid work force to raise their children.  Many women today and in the future will cycle in and out of the work force as they embark on their careers and raise their children.  For today's women, "having it all" may not mean having it all at the same time.  Rather mothers are balancing work and family through motherhood sabbaticals, part-time work, job-sharing, flex-time, telecommuting and home-based business opportunities.  In fact, almost half (46.9 percent) of working mothers in two-parent families with children under the age of 18 work only part-time, according to a March 1996 U.S. Census Bureau survey.  This is strong evidence of the fact that today's parents are consciously choosing to make family a priority.

While the pendulum of public opinion is swinging more in the direction of home and family as more mothers are making the choice to spend more time at home, Mothers At Home believes we still live in a society that makes it difficult -- financially and psychologically -- for many women to choose home.  Although many recent opinion polls indicate that mothers and fathers across the country want more time with their children, the trend toward shorter work hours and more family time has not been fully recognized or supported in the public policy arena.  In fact, proposed child care legislation ignores, even threatens, the preference of most parents to provide all or most of their children's daily care.

As we celebrate Mother's Day this year, Mothers At Home urges that this is the time to recognize and affirm that children benefit in countless ways from time spent with their mothers.  Mother's Day 1998 is a critical time for government, public policy leaders, employers and others to recognize that it is in the best interests of our children, families and society to help and support those increasing number of parents who are looking for ways to spend more time with their children.  Finally, Mother's Day 1998 is a time for all of us to recognize, affirm and honor the great richness of life that mothers uniquely and joyfully provide their children and families.