When Staying at Home Challenges Your Marriage

Despite what some people think, being a stay atthe grandparents to do it, then do something
home mom is a lot of work. Children to care for,cheap together. The point is that you still need to
a house to somehow keep clean, maybe even ahave fun as a couple.
work at home job or home business. It's not asMoney resentments build as finances get tighter
easy as it may appear on the surface.due to living on a single income. For most families
Being a stay at home mom can also sometimesthis is not an easy thing to do. It's not fun having
be a strain on a marriage. There are reasons forto make do, do without, skip vacations and so
this, such as money. But resentments can build ifforth because the budget won't allow it.
not brought into the light.Sometimes financial problems are bad enough that
One common resentment is simply that onea reassessment is necessary. Maybe it's time to
partner doesn't have to work outside the home.reconsider your current setup. Maybe being a
It is very easy for a husband to get frustrated100% stay at home mom isn't working. A night
that his wife gets all day with the kids and he hasjob could be in order so as to avoid daycare
to work all the time. At the same time, the stayissues, or finding a way to earn from home. But
at home wife may get frustrated that she neveryou can't let financial stressors get so serious that
gets a break from the kids.they tear you apart.
Obviously such issues should be discussed. One ofIf you, the stay at home mom, aren't keeping
the ways to ease the problem is to make surethe house as clean as you husband thought you
that each partner gets reasonable breaks, both aswould when staying at home, a discussion of the
a couple and individually. The husband needs tomatter may be in order. Maybe you do need to
realize that watching his own children as his wifework harder at it, or maybe he needs to
gets a break out of the house is not babysitting.understand how fast children can destroy a clean
The wife needs to realize that sometimes herroom. Either way, talk it out.
husband needs to do more than go to work andBeing a stay at home mom is a real treat for
go home.many mothers. But it does involve sacrifice and
This also means take date nights. This can beunderstanding. Don't let the stresses get out of
difficult when money is tight, but do try to find ahand.
way. You may be able to trade babysitting or get