Stay-at-Home Mother's

This is the topic of my last paper for the semester. I know it sounds a bit boring, but stay-at-home mother's can be pretty cool people if you give us a chance. I never realized how much controversy there is out there concerning this one profession that has been around since Adam and Eve. I had never heard of "Mommy Wars" until I started researching my paper, but they are every where, and there are some very strong feelings on the subject. Working mom's feel like society wants to push them back into the home, undoing the entire women's rights movement. Stay-at-home mother's just want a little help and respect for choosing to raise their own kids instead of pawning the responsibility off on a stranger. I am advocating for tax breaks, or incentives, to help women get to choose if they want to stay home. It seems to me that this career choice is becoming a thing of the past. A profession that was just assumed every young woman in the 40's was going to do after having babies, is now one that some women would love to do but can't because of finances. The government gives working mothers subsidies to help them pay for day-care, I believe they should also allocate that same money to women who choose to stay home. I have heard the argument that working mothers pay taxes therefore help pay for the subsidies the government is handing out. Stay-at-home mother's don't pay taxes, because they don't have anything to pay taxes on. However, they are raising well rounded individuals who will grow up and hopefully become an asset to our society and pay taxes.

I don't know all the particulars on the arguments for and against these sort of incentives. All I do know is I wish there was a new women's movement that made it so women really do have a choice if they want to work or stay home. My mom said when she was younger all she ever wanted was to be a stay-at-home mom. After her seventeen year marriage ended she was forced to get out and provide for her six children. This is a common story for a lot of women out there. I, myself a stay-at-home mother, am always apprehensive of the day when we just can't afford to keep me home any longer and I have to enter the workforce. We make huge sacrifices to keep me home, we don't have the newest cars, or the biggest house. We live very modestly and try to be as frugal with our money as possible. We have to have grandparents help pay for piano lessons, dance, and soft ball or our children would not be able to partake in those extra curricular activities.

Just like everyone else, I want the world for my children. I want them to enjoy this short time of being kids, they will be adults for such a long time. I am trying to help my children progress into responsible adults who will some day go off and have families of their own. And I want my daughters, and future daughter-in-laws, to have the choice of staying home or working. With the cost of living going up the way it is, stay-at-home mothers may be an extinct profession before too long. We need help and we need our govenment to stand up for family values. I believe that if we have strong families we will have a strong society.

Now how do I get that point across on my paper without sounding biased? And where can I find sources to back me up? Oh, this paper is going to be a toughy.