Every family with kids has to face the question of whether the parents should go to work or stay at home (SAH). It can be a tough choice, and every family situation is unique. Finances, childcare options, career goals, and much more have to be considered. While there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer, there are definitely some things we can say when looking at trends.
Here are Five Fast Facts on parents staying at home vs working:
- 🏡 How Big Is This Club? About 20% of American parents stay at home. This includes about 34% of moms and 6% of dads. These numbers are increasing after the pandemic shutdowns changed the workplace, but they’re still way lower than the 50% of moms staying home back in the 1970s. No statistics exist on the picket fences and checkered aprons, though.
- 🧒 It’s For The Children - It may be cliche, but it’s also true: kids with stay-at-home parents do better in school. All the way through school, across the board, both academically and behaviorally. It’s apparently a better stabilizer than an airplane’s tail fin.
- 👫 It’s For The Parents - Many parents want to stay home and invest in their kids! Plus, the one thing you can never get back is time…and take it from us, those little ones grow up fast! From seeing all the big milestones firsthand to having the most active part in your kid’s upbringing, many parents find staying at home well worth the impact to their careers and income (though don’t ask them about it at 4:59pm before the spouse gets home).
- 💲 The Money - Obviously, having two regular Paychecks is almost certainly better than one from a financial perspective (even when you take out taxes from the higher tax bracket). But staying home does have another cost - potential missed years of career experience, gaps on the resume, and slower income growth. Not everyone can afford to have a SAH parent. Can these things be overcome? Sure, but they’re not nothing. Some would argue that better income provides better opportunities for those kids, and that’s also true.
- 📈 The Value - So what’s the financial value of a parent staying home? Data from 2019 shows that SAH parents put in a whopping $178k in services like cooking, cleaning, counseling, educating, childcare, chauffeuring, and much more. This is why stay-at-home-moms deserve diamonds. Lots and lots of diamonds.
🔥Bottom line: Staying at home with the kiddos may or may not work for you. There are a lot of complicated factors in this decision, and no one else can tell you what’s right for you. If we had to grossly oversimplify it, we’d say it comes down to time or money. Unless you’re a trust fund baby or a politician, you most likely can’t have all of both that you want. So think carefully, make sure you understand your options, and then do what’s best for your family.
What do you think are some of the biggest things to consider that we didn’t mention?
Let us know by connecting with us on Facebook and Instagram! Also, remember to share this newsletter with your friends & coworkers!
Btw, If you’ve read this far and haven’t yet signed up for the weekly Paycheckology newsletter, CLICK HERE!
