Before giving birth to my first child, I was completely convinced that I wanted to stay home with her. It made me really sad to think that I would have to leave my baby at a daycare or in the care of someone else. Luckily, I was able to be a SAHM for the first two and a half years of her life. Even so, I was never exclusively a stay-at-home-mom. I mean, besides taking care of my daughter full time, I always had some kind of project going on the side and I'm pretty convinced it's the reason why I didn't go crazy or became depressed.
Well, according to a new Gallup survey, moms who stay at home with young kids are more likely to feel sad or angry than moms who work outside the home.
In fact, stay-at-home moms are also more likely to report that they've been diagnosed with depression more than moms who work outside the home. I'm not surprised because being a SAHM is the hardest job I've ever done. Seriously.
As I already said, the only reason I survived it is because I was always doing something else in addition to being a mom. Thus, I'm truly in awe of those moms capable of taking care of their children exclusively because I really don't know how they do it.
And yet, I have to admit that it makes me super sad to see that, at least according to the survey, so many stay-at-home moms are so depressed. I'm no expert, but what I do know is that it's always been super important for me to carry out my role as a mom, but it's also imperative that to honor my role as Roxana A. Soto. And I'm convinced that this is what saved me the years I chose to stay home with my daughter.
What do you think of the survey? Are you truly happy as a SAHM?
Image via Joe Scholabotnik/flickr
