Living Catholicism: Stay-At-Home Moms Should Get More Public Praise

« Building another great Catholic Carnival | Main | Go see the Catholic Carnival . . . »

May 9, 2008

Stay-At-Home Moms Should Get More Public Praise

As a society, we like to honor people who have done extraordinary things. People who have sacrificed something for the good of society often get recognized for their efforts. Since getting married and having children, I have been thinking a lot of the incredible value of mothers staying at home with their children and running a healthy household, and the little value they have in society's eyes.

The mother's place in the family is truly where the heart lies. A healthy household has a very capable, righteous, and respected mother. And healthy families make a healthy society. So why doesn't society honor its most honorable member - a mother who chooses to sacrifice honors, titles, and money for a healthy family and ultimately a healthy society? Other less honorable members are often praised. Though they might have done praiseworthy acts, they are often compensated in some way for their efforts.

This is where my duty as a husband steps in. At home, I need to give my wife all the respect and praise she would get if she were in the world with her honors, title, and high salary. But I find it sad that society is generally not with me. True, this is an opportunity for all stay-at-home moms to grow in humility, but I think that giving them proper praise would help the rest of us put our priorities in the right order and have a healthier society.

I would like to give one practical suggestion to give stay-at-home moms more recognition. Mother's Day offers a wonderful opportunity. For this special day, newspapers or any other media outlet, especially Catholic ones, could collect interesting stories of stay-at-home mothers. They could be stories of mothers with heroic virtue who chose to sacrifice university degrees and large salaries to stay home with their children. I'm sure there are many stay-at-home mothers with many different circumstances that would provide interesting and inspiring stories.

If anyone has other suggestion how to give stay-at-home moms more public praise I welcome them to post their comments. I think it would be truly helpful in a society where the family is increasingly distressed, and stay-at-home moms are valued less and less.

God bless,
Daniel

Posted by Daniel at May 9, 2008 11:19 AM