Press Release:  More Mothers Discover that Being Home is an Affordable Option  Disseminated May 1996; Statistics Updated January 1998

Vienna, VA --  Parents from all income levels nationwide are reaching into their hearts and tightening up their wallets to make generous amounts of time with their children a reality rather than an ideal, reports the national non-profit organization Mothers at Home (MAH), publishers of the award-winning journal, Welcome Home.

Over the past fifteen years, MAH has heard from thousands of parents who have refuted the assumption that today's economic climate requires two full-time incomes.  Those families are aware of the growing body of evidence about the needs of all children for generous amounts of their parents' time.  Those one-paycheck families now constitute the fastest growing household unit in America.

Government statistics show that the typical American family with a full-time mother at home is actually middle-income.  "The average homemaker is neither wealthy, nor is she a 'power mom' of the 90's who has left a high-paying job by choice," says Brennan.

The Census Bureau's Current Population Survey (March, 1996) reveals that the median income of one-paycheck married couples with children ($38,835) is about $19,000 less than two-paycheck married couples with children ($50,621).

Many are mistakenly under the assumption that the husband's income in the typical famly with a homemaker is very high.  Again, the 1996 Census Bureau data do not support this conclusion.  A comparison of the 1996 median earnings of a father with a non-employed wife ($33,458) to the median earnings of a father with an employed wife ($34,503) shows that the typical father in both types of families earn nearly identical incomes.

According to MAH, staying home is becoming increasingly more affordable on less income for a variety of reasons, including:

• Mothers are pursing non-traditional opportunities for supplemental income by using creative options such as job-sharing, flex-time and part-time work, "tag team" parenting, telecommuting and home-based businesses.  Government statistics report that part-time work, rather than full-time work, accounts for slightly more than half of all employed mothers in married couple families with children under age 18.
• Many women are concluding that "superwoman" is a mythical figure.  "Sequencing" can be a solution to the dilemma of "having it all."  That is, many woman are finding that they can have a successful family life as well as a successful career, just not at the same time.  They are choosing to pursue different goals at different stages of their lives.
• Many couples analyzing the economic impact of decreased income when the woman chooses to leave the paid workforce find that it's expensive to have both parents employed.  In addition to the payment of higher taxes, savings associated with staying home include child care or after school care, commuting and parking, wardrobe, and convenience foods.
• Grassroots support for at-home mothers is rising.  There has been a large increase in both the number and size of local and national support groups available to at-home mothers.  These groups are an invaluable source of idea and resource sharing.
• Many mothers believe that their children develop best in continuous proximity of their parents, providing a greater likelihood that parents will have a major impact on their children's self-esteem, values and interpersonal skills.

 Says one Wisconsin mother at home of three young children, "My husband and I don't mind doing without some of the things we might want, because we have the priceless peace of mind that comes with giving our children what they need most -- the generous daily care of a loving parent.  Our children's eagerness to love, and to be loved, is our greatest reward.  How can I afford not to stay home?"

 "The issue of affordability can be a difficult and sensitive one," says Heidi Brennan, former Public Policy Director of MAH. "Many mothers tell us that their strong attachment to their children brings about a redefinition of economic expectations, with the discovery that some of what they thought were needs were more accurately defined as wants.  While there is no magic threshold at which all families 'can afford' to have mom stay home, many families live by the adage 'When there is a will, there is a way.'  The reality is that despite housing, tax and other financial burdens of today's families, millions of parents still find ways to be the primary daily caregivers for their children."