Ladies, how do you feel about being a stay at home mom/wife?

as a non-breeding spinster-in-training, this one is really really moot for me, but what the hey: if i were to raise children, i would prefer that either myself or my imaginary partner SAH for (at least) years 0-4 to make sure our offspring gets started the way i/we desire. most of what is going to matter in our lives we've learned (or not) by age 4. i can't reasonably expect anyone but me and my imaginary partner to train our 0-4-year-old to think, say, do, and be what we feel is important. best case scenario for any child's development is that the parent(s) are the ones modeling preferred behavior, anyway. i love kids. i love caring for them, teaching them, having fun with them. there's little else i would rather do. SAHM would be an awesome, fulfilling job for me. for how long, idk. maybe just the first few years; maybe longer. for reasons, this is never going to be an option. :shrug:

as for being a childless housewife, i dunno... i have a hard time not seeing that as "= kept woman." i can't imagine myself with a primary goal of building/maintaining a shared life rather working toward my own personal goals. nothing wrong with sharing your life and your goals with your spouse; i just don't see that as the only star to which *i* would want to hitch my wagon.

I get to be a stay at home wife every few years since my husband is military and we move often. It's taken me two years at this duty station to find a job and now we're looking at moving again. While I actually prefer working, I don't feel like I'm unproductive or not pulling my fair share in the relationship when I'm jobless. My husband is pretty awesome with making sure I feel appreciated, regardless of whether I'm working. With that being said, staying home with kids is a whole different ballgame since it wouldn't just be me trying to decide if I should nap or watch TV after I do the dishes. My mom stayed home until I started kindergarten (I'm the youngest in the family) and I loved that time with her.

OP have you tried asking a little kid what their opinion was on them being dropped off at a daycare and/or not having their mom/dad there for them?

My kids love their sitter.

I put my kids to childcare when the youngest was 2. When the youngest was 9 we drove past the place his (fab) childminder lived and I asked if he remembered going there and did he like "D". He said she was nice, but he would have rather been with me and missed me when I was gone

like hell