| Posted: |
06/21/2006 12:35:27 |
| Name: |
anna lines |
| Email: |
amwlines@aol.com |
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What's in a name? There's just no pleasing everybody all of the time. To talk about home-makers and housewives is bound to offend somebody and likewise is the term "stay-at-home mother".
Then there are those who talk about being a home manager and I have even heard somebody say that "she grew children". And if your questioner has a sense of humour at all then you could always say that yours "is the oldest profession in the world"! Or maybe the French have got it right? They talk about the "femme au foyer", the word foyer being derived from the word feu, which means fire and therefore implies warmth and comfort. This woman is the one who keeps the home fires burning and ensures that home remains the place of comfort, food and company that make it a place worth returning to.
So what about the relatively modern term "full time mother"? In this country it is the proverbial elephant, the beast that is hard to describe, but that we all recognise when we see it. I presume that it came into being with a certain type of feminism that wishes to keep motherhood strictly separate from housework and all the other tasks that a mother at home inevitably takes on in addition to mothering. And it's just as well that she does, for a woman who remains 100% wrapped up in her children way beyond early infancy could become a little tedious to live with!
One of this organisation's aims is to raie the status of the full time mother, which means that we would encourage her to play a part in her community and evolve through reading, study, voluntary work and contacts with others.
We also hope that one day the social and economic role of mothers at home will be so valued that, like those engaged in paid work, their views too will be taken on board by the government of the day and they too will be part of decision making processes.
So, all things considered, there is a case for this name. It never fails to attract attention.
Anna |
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| Posted: |
06/14/2006 21:35:56 |
| Name: |
avril rothwell |
| Email: |
avrilrothwell@btinternet.com |
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I found your website after doing a search for "full time mother." My search was prompted by a comment in a women's magazine (Sara Nelson, Easy Living, July issue) that intrigued me;-
"When one of the stay at home mothers... referred to herself as a full time mum, it made my blood boil...Motherhood is a state of being ... not a job description.." I am really interested in the origin of the term, in particular whether it was coined simply to attach more status to the role of "stay at home" mothers (with its perjorative overtones) and whether it is itself intended to convey any insult to mothers who work outside the home. Is this journalist entitled to feel angry at the casual use of this term by an acquaintance when it seems to be in such common parlance? |
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| Posted: |
06/07/2006 09:05:08 |
| Name: |
Pennie Brathwaite |
| Email: |
pennieb@itsconsult.com |
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I was a full time mother and My children now in their 20's are a joy.Being a mothert is the best'job' in the world |
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| Posted: |
06/01/2006 19:25:15 |
| Name: |
Jacqui Bolam |
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What a great website this is.Im really enjoying the motherhood perspective from a social and cultural voice and it is only through this recognition that I feel validated. I have been seen as a failure by fellow female professionals/friends for being a full time mother and it has taken a near breakdown for me to finally put my daughter first. I note that Patricia Hewitt said that given her time again she would spend more time with her family and that over the last 6 years the government have given the impression that women should return to work as soon as possible. The emotional and psychological benefits to both me and my daughter are priceless since giving up my income. Socially I am not held in quite the same regard and am constantly questioned about my decision which I initially felt compelled to justify.This website is the friend that understands and values me. |
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| Posted: |
05/25/2006 08:33:00 |
| Name: |
Marilyn P |
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Great to have a website that gives a VOICE to mothers looking after children. As far as I can tell there simply isn't a level playing field at the moment - the government and Parenting organisations seem happy to support, encourage and help other people to get involved - dads, nurseries, childminders etc but it doesn't seem fashionable to support the idea that many mums want to care for their young children themselves. Yet the mother-child bond is strong. Choice to work? - by all means let's help people with flexible working rights etc ....but not at the expense of choice to be a mother for the many years that this takes. Society benefits from it and according to the EOC the unpaid caring work done by parents and carers in the UK is estimated to be worth 277 billion. |
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| Posted: |
05/21/2006 22:27:47 |
| Name: |
Jill Harland |
| Email: |
paul.harland2@btopenworld.com |
| Url: |
Full Time Mothers |
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Hello all other full timers, just wanting to inquire if there are any ladies like myself in Northern Ireland ? thanks |
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