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"Being a SAHM isn't THAT hard"

Categories: Just for moms, Money & work, Playground bureau

Last week, Suburban Turmoil's Lindsay started a little bit of a ruckus at her site with one simple paragraph: "This I believe: Being a stay-at-home mom, even with four kids and no help with cooking or cleaning, is not that hard, certainly not as hard as many bellyaching moms in magazines and on TV and the Internet (no, I'm not talking about anyone specifically!) would have us believe."

She asked readers to discuss, and they certainly did.

In a follow-up post, Lindsay clarified what she sees as the heart of this discussion: "Why is it okay to say that being a SAHM is hard, but it's not okay to say it's not that hard?"

Good question.

Lindsay points out that there are extenuating circumstances--depression, or raising a special needs child--that may indeed make SAHMdom difficult to the nth degree. I would add that socioeconomic factors have a lot to do with how easy or hard being at home is. But all things being equal--assuming that your family has enough money and good health care and children who don't have any unusual issues or needs--IS being a SAHM all THAT hard?

What say you all--is being a SAHM as hard as the media (including the media we create ourselves, through our blogs) makes it out to be? Or, as Lindsay argues, have we fallen into the trap of complaining just to hear ourselves complain?

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