More money more problems. Where there is economic growth there are surely issues and decisions to be made. Stay at home moms create issues within their home environment when becoming succesful individual. A stay a home mom such as Julie Clarke who created Baby Enstein went from raising her child to running a twenty-two million dollar business. Clarke said the stress of the business and the competition made her sell her company to Walt Disney. What was Clarke's life like during the million dollar transition? Was there a power struggle between her and her husband? Where her children affected by mommy's work?
Stay at home moms never receive the credit in which they deserve. Successful stay at home moms who become entrepreneurs must overcome the stereotype in which American society has created. American society believes that women should take care of their child and that be their first priority. Stay at home moms who become successful entrepreneurs have to rise above their traditional stereotype. Society often believes that these moms are uneducated and are financially dependent on their husband. Stay at home moms are often the exact opposite. Imagine being over qualified for your job but you love doing it anyways. Successful stay at home moms have the ability to move passed the mundane nature of motherhood. These women see their role as a mother far more important than what society thinks of them. These women enjoy spending quality time with their children and are successful for they choose to overcome the negatives of motherhood. Every mother gets into a "rut" but it what you choose to do in those situations is what separates the stay at home moms into respected women. These successful stay at home moms create products by using their talents and resources to change their current situation. It is said that stay at home moms have little interaction with other adults. Successful stay at home moms change that image of solitude and create a business venture while raising their children.
Stay at home moms are often underestimated. These mothers are part of the unpaid labor force. Ann Crittenden's book The Price of Motherhood describes society view of the stay at home mom. Crittenden states that "the invention of the unproductive housewife has negative consequences for women." Crittenden believes that women have always tried to be counted and matter yet they are considered under the notion of the unproductive housewife. Crittenden writes "A 1995 United Nations report made it starkly clear why 'everybody' wants to believe that housewives aren't busy." Everybody believes that housewives are not busy for if they considered them to have an established job the women would be under paid for the amount of work the do. Crittenden tries to put a value on unpaid labor.
Who bares the cost of motherhood?
Crittenden believes that the family will bare the cost and mother particularly will experience the cost of the motherhood. Motherhood cost women their individuality and their identity. If a mom chooses to stay at home and raise her child she also bares the cost of her reputation in society. Stay at home moms are seen as both unproductive and underpaid. The mom's who choose to supplement their income through business ventures are often viewed as the underdog in society. The stay at home moms who are entrepreneurs have the biggest opportunity to fail but they also have the opportunity to succeed. Women such as Julie Clarke and J.K. Rowling bring hope to the stay at home moms who are craving for opportunities.
Who reaps the benefits from motherhood?
Crittenden believes that everyone benefits from motherhood. Crittenden states that "the entire society benefits from well-reared children, without sharing more than a fraction of the cost of producing them." I agree! Society wants to well-reared children in society but does not want to bare any of the cost. Society wants well adjusted children in their classrooms, as neighbors, and in public. How do people think such children become well adjusted-- if not for the stay at home mom in who society undervalues.
Here is a chapter from Crittenden's book. This chapter is entitled The Truly Invisible Hand.
https://blackboard.uncg.edu/bbcswebdav/library/eReserves/BLS-385-01D-SPRING2012/The_truly_invisible_hand.pdf
Monday, August 6, 2012
Institution of Motherhood and Success Stories
Women's role has changed throughout history. Women have gained the right to vote, have fought for equality in the work place, and have fought for their gender. The Modern Feminist Movement formed to fight for equality in the political realm and in the work place. As the movement continued Women activist felt that their gender was the only dynamic shaping society. While some women were fighting for equality between genders, other women were fighting to sustain their traditional roles. Traditionalist Phyllis Schlafy argued for the traditional role of women. Schlafy believed that "women were most fulfilled through roles as housewives and mothers." Schlafy felt women's right attacked the institution of motherhood. The Feminist movement created many changes for women in the political realm and in the workplace. After these changes were implemented women felt their goals had been achieved and that they could return to their traditional role. The contemporary woman has many choices in her life but if she chooses to be a mother American society only sees one true choice. Adrienne Rich author Of Women Born speaks on the institution of motherhood and that it is an oppressive institution for the women involved. Rich continues to describe the institution of motherhood when she says, "Ideas about how mothers should mother, the socially-sanctioned ways in which mothers should interact with their children and spouses, have been developed and imposed over time by a male-dominated culture whose interests these ideas serve." The institution of motherhood teaches women how to mother and how these mothers should interact with their children. Motherhood has overtime been created to reflect the male culture thus removing the mother out of motherhood.
Adrienne Rich does not believe in the success of the institution of motherhood. Rich believes that motherhood is a designed role and that it only reflects the male culture. Rich believes that "the modern image of a good mother- is the full-time, stay-at-home mother, isolated in the private sphere and financially dependent on her husband." Adrienne Rich attacks the institution of motherhood but does not recognize that motherhood is a choice. The chapter Anger and Tenderness from Of Women Born discloses the intimate feelings of a mother forced into the institution of motherhood. Rich believes that women have children for it is what the women before them have done. I disagree. Women have a choice if they want a family or not. Also I disagree with Rich's view on motherhood. If a women becomes pregnant she can make the choice to be a Stay-at-home mom or a working mom. American society values the traditional sanction of staying at home and raising the children. Though society values the tradition it is not that women are forced into such a role.
Adrienne Rich believes that the modern image of a good mother is a stay at home mother. If a mother chooses to stay at home with her child, the mother does not have to isolate herself from the public sphere. There will be times when a mother is home alone with her child but it is the mothers job to orchestrate play dates and other social interactions. These social interactions are not only a positive experience for the child but also for the mother. Social gatherings provide a outlet for the mothers to have interaction with other humans at the adult level.
Finally Rich believes that a stay at home mom must be financially dependent on their husband. Rich, Mom's today are creative, inventive, and resourceful. Modern society has embraced the mom- entrepreneurs. Julie Clark, part time school teacher/full time mom, came up with the Baby Einstein DVD which grossed over $22 Million dollars. Her husband became the CEO of her company. In the Clark's situation the stay at home mom is not dependent on the husband financially. Other stay at home mom's such as J.K. Rowling did not even have a male figure in her daughters life when she began writing the Harry Potter series. J.K. Rowling used government support until she was able to stay at home with her daughter and be successful. There are many websites and resources out their for moms to use. Stay at home mom's do not have to be financially dependent on their husbands. If a mother wants to be dependent on her husband while she stays at home with the children it is her choice. She can take after many other women who are looking for supplemental income and can create homemade items to sell on Etsy. Etsy is revolutionizing the way society does business. Thus creating economic growth even in small economic ventures.
My information about Adrienne Rich came from a secondary source in the Introduction Section on the following website:
https://blackboard.uncg.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_11_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_136143_1%26url%3D
Baby Einstein- Another Mommy Millionaire
http://www.parents.com/baby/development/intellectual/baby-einstein-creator/
The Baby Einstein empire is another instance where a stay-at-home mom created a product that would revolutionize the world. The Baby Einstein DVDs will impact the future generation of children and their mothers. Julie Clarke has proven to be inventive and resourceful in creating a product where she felt there was a demand.
Etsy Economics
"No one can know how much I love you, because you are the only one who knows what my heart sounds like from the inside.” - Author Unknown
Meet My Sister! My sister is a stay-at-home mom. After her first child was born, Priscilla and her husband decided that Priscilla would not return back to work but that she would stay at home and raise their daughter Isabelle. Priscilla had a job but not a career in which she was overly passionate about. One thing Priscilla is passionate about is her family and she did not want to miss a minute of her little girl growing up. Her and her husband felt that they could live on only one income but that as a family they would need to live on a budget. Dave Ramsey to the rescue!!! Stay-at-home moms living on a budget need some extra income to spend of themselves. When looking at a budget a lot of wants are removed and replaced by with needs. Priscilla wanted to live a humble yet more glamours life style so she decided she would need to do something to create additional income. Creating additional spendable income was important to Priscilla so she became resourceful. Priscilla tapped into her talent of sewing. Priscilla made several items and sold them at a local craft fair. Then she decided to start posting her items on her Facebook page to see if they would sell. After tons of orders started coming in she decided to set up an Etsy page. My sister has been very successful in business venture and has continued to provide a quality product while staying at home and raising her daughter.
Etsy is a website in which anyone can create page to sell items. Etsy is a wonderful website that allows anyone to purchase items without even leaving your home. The Etsy website states, "Etsy is the world's handmade marketplace. Our mission is to empower people to change the way the global economy works. We see a world in which very-very small businesses have much-much more sway in shaping the economy, local living economies and thriving everywhere, and people value authorship and provenance as much as price and convenience. We are bringing heart to commerce and making the world more fair, more sustainable, and more fun." In my opinion Etsy is helping empower mom's. They are providing and outlet in which talented and creative women can create products that can sell to anyone anywhere. Etsy is shaping the economy and providing in some cases additional spendable income to some families.
Here is another Etsy page created by a stay at home mom. Lauren not only creates craft items in which she sells on Etsy but she has established her own cake making business. She is a stay at home mom who is trying to help support her family with her business ventures.
Meet Lauren-
http://www.etsy.com/shop/prettypleasepillows
Stay at home moms are revolutionizing the economy through their creativity and resourcefulness. Etsy is another successful web page that can help businesses market their products. Mothers are not only raising their children but creating products in which people want. The increase in income creates more opportunities for these moms. The more opportunities stay at home moms encounter the healthier the institution of motherhood becomes.
Millionaire Mom
American culture has created the word momtrepreneur. Momtrepreneur simply means a mom who is also an entrepreneur. Many women who are stay at home moms are trying to help contribute to their household income. Women feel the need to help support in the finances even if their role is as caregiver. The legal zoom website provides insight into what moms are doing in order to help bring additional income into the family. The article on the legal zoom website entitled Millionaire Moms: Top inventions by stay-at-home moms taps into the successes that mom's have had. Susan Funaro author of Millionaire Moms: Top inventions by stay-at-home moms states "In between childcare, cooking and cleaning, they are cranking out inventions that are making them millions." Millionaire Mom shows society how inventive and resourceful some moms can be.
Here is a list of some of the Millionaire Moms:
One Minute Manicure
Rosie Herman is the founder of One Minute Manicure. Rosie was a new mother of twins who was often in search of a lotion that moisturize her hands yet be free of perfumes and dyes. Rosie was looking for a natural product that would not affect her newborns. Rosie created her own lotion in her kitchen and let friends and family try the product. Soon enough Rosie's lotion became a success. Susan Funaro goes on to say, "She passed her lotion around town, and an onslaught of requests followed. She elicited help from family and friends and five years later her manicure product sales now exceed $20 million. Her advice: "Start small, think BIG!"
Victoria Knight-McDowell was a second-grade teacher and part time stay at home mother. She was surrounded by children everyday and simply could not afford to get sick. Victoria Knight-McDowell, after years of trying, developed an herbal remedy called Airborne. Victoria's company last year made over $21 million dollars. All because one mother had the idea to experiment with ingredients and envisioned a cure to the common cold.
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a household name. The author of all seven Harry Potter books is J.K. Rowling. Rowling began writing the Harry Potter series while raising her daughter. The Harry Potter collection has made J.K. Rowling a billionaire. Susan Funaro goes on to say, " Her first five books have been translated into 61 languages, distributed in over 200 countries, with sales of over a quarter billion books. Rowling now has the financial distinction of being one of five self-made female billionaires and the first billion dollar author. In addition to publishing, there are profits from movies, videos, toys and other merchandise." The Harry Potter empire was all started by a stay-at-home who envisioned something more for her family.
The article Millionaire Moms: Top inventions of a stay-at-home moms makes me appreciate the stay-at-home moms just that much more. Mothers are often overlooked in today's society. The female figure is seen as the caregiver or homemaker. In some families it makes sense for the mother to stay at home with the child. In these cases the mom is often living on a budget and having to be resourceful with what she has. Stay-at-home moms are becoming not only creative but are able to multitask.
Check out the full article by Susan Funaro:
Meet the Girl Behind the blog!
Welcome!
Meet the girl behind the blog:
I was born in New Jersey but have been a Southern Girl most of my life. Since my family and I moved to North Carolina we haven't looked back. I grew up in a home filled with lots of love and laughter. At the Padron house it was never a dull moment. Growing up family always came first and I enjoyed spending quality time with my older sister. In my family I am daddy's little girl and mom's best friend. What more could I ask for. After completing most of my young adulthood in Greensboro, NC it was time to embark on a new journey College. I moved a short hour away to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After a few semesters at UNC, I met the love of my life. We met in 2008 when he applied for a position at my job. I hired him on the spot (with the rest of the leadership teams approval). I knew that day that I wanted to date that man. One date turned into two and then a year and half later we were engaged. After a year engagement we were married on the rooftop of a building in downtown Greensboro. Since we got married we decided to stay in the area. We have been married for little over a year now. I hope one day our small family of two will turn into a family of four.
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