stay at home mom

Balancing (or choosing between) career and motherhood is a decision (or struggle) that every mom faces. This weekend, Motherlode, The New York Times' parenting blog, took a look at the results of a Gallup poll on the emotional satisfaction of working vs. nonworking mothers. Survey says . . .

Non-employed women with young children at home are more likely than women with young children at home who are employed for pay to report experiencing sadness and anger [for] a lot of the day . . . Stay-at-home moms are also much more likely to report having ever been diagnosed with depression than employed moms. Employed moms are about as emotionally well-off as working women who do not have children at home.

The standout results supporting these findings? Twenty-six percent of stay-at-home moms experience "sadness," versus just 16 percent of working women, and 28 percent of stay-at-home moms report depression, versus 17 percent of their employed counterparts. Other emotional benchmarks, like smiling, laughing, and experiencing enjoyment or happiness, had closer results.

While the pool of women surveyed was of a fairly substantial size (60,000 women responded to Gallup's phone survey), we can't but help but wonder how other factors, like salary, job flexibility, commute time, and spousal support, weighed in.

Do you agree with the study's findings?

popsugar poll

Are Working Moms Really Happier Than Stay-at-Home Moms?

As a working mom, I agree.

As a stay-at-home mom, I agree.

As a working mom, I disagree.

As a stay-at-home mom, I disagree.

Being a stay-at-home mom is an anomaly of a lifestyle. It's one of the only "jobs" around where it's absolutely mandatory to be on call 24/7, 365 days a year. And it's also the only job that's this demanding, yet comes without a salary. Needless to say, we were intrigued to discover Investopedia's "How Much Is a Homemaker Worth?" Check out their calculations below, and tell us whether you think this is an accurate accounting . . . or way off.

The Value of a Stay-at-Home Mom:

Private Chef
The American Personal Chef Association reports that its personal chefs make $200 to $500 a day. Grocery shopping is another chore that needs to be factored in, as grocery delivery services generally come with a $5-10 fee.

Total cost for services: $1,005 per five-day work week x 52 weeks = $52,260 per year

Housekeeping
From vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, and scrubbing, to dealing with dirty dishes and making beds, unless she has regular help, household chores are also the responsibility of a stay-at-home mom.

Total cost for services: $118 per week x 52 weeks = $6,136 per year

Child Care
The International Nanny Association's 2011 survey reported that nannies on average take home between $600-950 per week (and that often includes perks like health insurance, paid vacation and sick days, and federal holidays off — not so much for supermom).

Total cost for services: $600 per week plus perks/benefits x 52 weeks = $31,200 per year

Driver
Employing a private car service may seem like a luxury to most, but getting the gang where they need to be, on time, is all in a day's work for a stay-at-home mom. An elite membership with a service like Red Cap, which provides drivers for the client's own car(s), runs about $1,000, plus between 33 cents and $2 per minute.

Total cost for services: $1,000 per year (plus estimating 8,000 miles driven/50 miles per hour at 33 cents per minute) = $4,168 year

Laundry Service
Professional laundry services charge by the pound. Texas-based Susie's Suds Home Laundry Service said that they charge between 90 cents and $1 per pound to wash, dry, fold, hand, and steam your clothes. Items that take longer to dry (comforters, blankets, rugs, winter coats, etc.) are assessed at $12-15 each.

Total cost for services: 90 cents per pound x 4 pounds of clothes per day x 5 days per week x 52 weeks = $936 per year

Lawn Maintenance
While this category probably doesn't apply to city moms, or those who employ a gardening service (or have a lawnmower-friendly husband), there are plenty who do handle outdoor landscaping. Assuming that these services cost about $30 per week . . .

Total cost for services: $30 per week x 52 weeks = $1,560 per year

And the grand total is . . . $96,261

popsugar poll

Is a stay-at-home mom worth $96,261?

I feel undervalued! I am worth much more.

On par — $96,000 sounds about right.

Too much! This number seems too high for my day-to-day routine.