All Mothers Work: A Guilt Free Guide for the Stay at Home Mom

Moms who work outside the home are in the majority. Some work because they like to; others, because it's a financial necessity - or they believe it is. Whatever the reason, most working moms are running themselves ragged and feeling guilty because they spend too little time with their kids. All Mothers Work gives mothers (and fathers) a chance to reevaluate the pros and cons of giving up an outside job to become a full-time parent.
It will help you answer such questions as: When you add up the expenses of going to work, are you really coming out ahead financially? Is working outside the home important to your sense of self-worth? How will the rest of the family react to the changes? How will you stay in touch with the adult world? How can you make extra money at home? What are some of the ways you can save money? Are you cut out for full-time mothering? Will your children be better off because you're home?

Caring for Kids In All Mothers Work: A Guilt-Free Guide for the Stay-at-Home Mom, Cindy Ramming, former accountant, current at-home mom, delivers encouragement and counsel to those women who have decided not to return to the workplace after the birth of a child. Despite the title, she also discusses issues that challenge mothers working outside the home: guilt, juggling competing demands of one's outside job, family, home and self. An appendix includes a list of ideas for home-based businesses and those that get one out of the house. Buying for kids is just like buying for adults. Except their interests change from week to week. And their bodies change from month to month. And they have no resistance to peer pressure. Or any understanding of the value of money. In The Smart Shopper's Guide to the Best Buys for Kids, Sue Robinson, the editor and publisher of Kid News, a national newsletter on consumer bargains for children's merchandise, offers her advice on hunting for pint-sized bargains. In chapters on clothes, furniture, travel, toys, food and more, she offers general advice and caveats (as well as styling tips and recipes) combined with geographically grouped listings of stores and services. For kids whose diets are restricted by food allergies, Mary Harris and Wilma Nachsin have developed such permissible treats as Gingersnaps and Toffee Squares in "My Kid's Allergic to Everything" Dessert Cookbook. Included with recipes for cupcakes, brownies, pies and a variety of flavorful breakfast options are substitutions for flours, sugars, leaveners, chocolate, dairy products, etc. There is also information on safe cleaning products and pesticides, shopping tips and a list of resources. Forewords by Drs. Rebecca Hoffman and Ida Mary S. Thoma discuss the medical aspects of asthma and allergies and explain how to detect offending foods.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ramming's heartfelt examination of the choices that working mothers face is addressed to women who are not compelled to work outside the home for financial reasons, yet the questions it raises are ones that any parent might consider. The expenses of going to work, lifestyle wants versus needs, the attendant emotional costs, and overload and stress are all legitimate reasons, Ramming says, for giving up outside work. On the other hand, unrealistic expectations of being at home, loss of self-esteem on account of "losing" paying work, overwork at volunteerism, and quitting work for dubious reasons, such as conflicts in the workplace, are indicators that giving up your day job may not or will not be such a good idea. Ramming draws heavily on her own experience and insight to frame the pros and cons of staying home, and she lightens her advice with a lively sense of humor. Kathryn Carpenter