Is Self-Employment Unhealthy for Stay-at-Home Moms?

February 20, 2019
36 Comments

Last Updated on November 15, 2019 by NandiNN

Benefits of Stay-at-Home Mom Statistics

Who are considered stay-at-home moms? And is self-employment a health risk for moms who are staying at home with their kids?

One new study seems to suggest that moms who work full-time outside the home are in better physical and mental health than those who work at home while taking care of the kids.

Maybe, to be fair, the study should have compared women who work two full-time jobs outside the home with stay-at-home self-employed moms who are doing the same thing inside the home.

We are also going to look compare with women who own successful businesses.

Before we get started on knowing exactly if self-employment is unhealthy for stay-at-home moms, we did want you to follow us on Facebook for more awesome ideas on saving or making more money. You can also follow us on Instagram for more tips.

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So is self-employment unhealthy for stay-at-home moms? We first need to understand who is considered as a stay-at-home-mom.

Who Exactly is a Stay-At-Home Mom?

Stay-at-home moms are considered moms who choose to stay at home to raise and look after their children rather than return to the work force.

This could be for numerous reasons such as high daycare fees, the money is not worth it depending on how much expenses they may now have and other reasons.

Some stay-at-home moms do choose to return to the workforce once the kids are a bit older. They may also choose to work from home to make extra money.

Some starting as early as finding ways to make money while on Maternity leave.

They are now a lot more stay-at-home moms than ever before in this new age. But the question remains, is self-employment unhealthy for stay-at-home moms?

Should You Quit Your Job to be a Stay-At-Home Mom?

Quitting your job to be a stay-at-home mom is a decision that you need too make personally.

A lot of new moms and moms with multiple children choose to quit their jobs to stay at home with their children.

You can make this decision by consulting your budget, looking at how life could potentially change with a new baby or with multiple children and as well as looking at additional expenses of having kids.

If your choice is to quit your job to be a stay-at-home mom, then read this whole post and make your decision accordingly.

Studying Moms

Penn State and Akron University researchers studied moms around age 40 to get the results of the study.

After questioning 40-something women who went back to work after having children, the researchers found that these women had more energy, more mobility and less depression than their peers who were still at home with the kids.

The results of the study were released by the American Sociological Association.

Assistant sociology professor Adrianne Frech explained why the study shows an improvement in health among working women compared to stay-at-home moms: “It gives women a sense of purpose, self-efficacy, control, and autonomy,” she explained in a press release.

“Work is good for your health, both mentally and physically.”

The study also shows that mothers who work full-time outside the home often make more money and have more job security than self-employed moms who are home with the kids.

Stay-at-home moms are also more socially isolated than their working peers, which can contribute to poor mental health and problems like depression.

Self-Employed Moms

Factors that may have skewed the results were taken into account to make the research more accurate.

Researchers considered health influences such as pre-pregnancy employment, marital status, race, age, and pre-existing health conditions.

Around 2540 women who became mothers between the years 1978 and 1995 were studied for the research project.

The women who were the unhealthiest in the study were those who drop in and out of the workforce frequently, not necessarily by choice.

“Being in constant job-search mode wears on their health, especially mentally, but also physically,” explained Frech. “Work makes you healthier.”

But it’s not always an option.

Data shows that more and more working mothers are being driven back into the home, and not always by choice.

Many working moms are finding that paying for childcare is just too expensive, requiring them to stay at home with the kids and seek self-employment opportunities instead.

A lot are frequently looking for creative small business ideas to help make ends meet.

And while being in constant job-search mode may be regarded by some researchers as unhealthy, in self-employment it simply goes with the territory.

The self-employed are obligated to seek new opportunities constantly because everyone can always benefit from making more money.

However, the data can’t be ignored.

Stay-at-home moms who are also working from home and seeking self-employment should take this study seriously.

But instead of giving up on self-employment entirely, learn how to offset the ill effects of being trapped in the house all day.

Make arrangements with dad, family members or neighbors to get the kids adult supervision for around an hour a day, and escape the house.

Go on a walk through the neighborhood, run errands and interact with others.

Avoiding social isolation, and communicating with adults, is very important for self-employed moms who stay at home with the kids.

It’s also important to get enough sleep at night, practice self-care and to exercise regularly; taking care of these things will greatly improve overall health and energy levels.

How to Be A Successful Stay-At-Home Mom

As we have just concluded, it’s not unhealthy to be a stay at home mom. You just need to have a solid plan, stay active and do things to pass the time.

Having a baby (I have a young toddler myself), typically keeps you busy all day long.

In order to be a successful stay at home mom, be sure to set a daily schedule to keep your sanity and keep track of what needs to be done.

If you can meet other stay-at-home moms during the week, this will really help you a lot.

This way you have things to talk about, exchange tips and your kids can play. This also allows you to leave the house and get fresh air.

Be sure to set time to socialize and have “you time” when you can.

Might also want to take a look at some of these work at home jobs for moms to see if it allows you to socialize with others.

How to Afford Being A Stay-At-Home Mom

Stay-at-home moms can totally afford to stay at home in order to look after their children. With a lot of great planning and saving, you can manage to live on a tight budget until things even out.

You can learn and embrace how to live more frugally and manage your money more efficiently. Be sure to set up an emergency fund so that you have some money to dip into in case something arises in the future.

Why not de-clutter your home and sell any extra stuff you may have? Put the extra money you make into a savings account or an emergency account.

If this is your first time being a stay-at-home mom, de-cluttering is a great way to make space for the new baby.

Don’t forget to create a working budget. You might want to check out these free monthly budget templates you can use to create your own working budget. This will you when you transition to being a full-time stay-at-home mom.

Other things you can do afford being a stay-at-home mom is to try to pay off your debt fast.

This will elevate some of the stress caused due to living on one income.

How to Make Money as A Stay-At-Home Mom

We already mentioned a few tips on how to afford to be a stay-at-home, but you might want to think about looking for ways to increase your income by working from home.

As a stay-at-home, you can find many opportunities to help increase your house hold income.

The best way of going about this is to find high paying side jobs that you can do from home. We are going to share a few of our favorite work from home jobs that we think you can try out:

Phew, that was a lot but these money making ideas work perfectly for stay-at-home moms and we suggest you give them a try.

Encouraging Words for Stay-At-Home Moms

Being a stay-at-home mom is hard! Realize that.

I have toddler and although I have a groove going, it’s still hard! Trying to balance a baby, your finances and your sanity can get a bit wild.

Be sure to get the support you need, surround yourself with like-minded people and take time for yourself.

This goes for mothers that have jobs outside the home too or the moms that stay-at-home.

Do we have any stay-at-home moms here? We would love to hear your thoughts.

About the Author:

My name is Thomas Madison, I’m a student and Web-developer, like dunder casino – and I like writing useful and interesting articles. I also like to study female psychology and using the example of my acquaintances’ moms, I explored the theory of moms self-development. I hope this article will be very useful.

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