Many moms choose to stay at home to care for their children for various reasons. One might be that childcare is too expensive or it is difficult to get their children into daycare. Other moms might simply enjoy having a more flexible schedule. There are other reasons mothers make this choice and doing so is definitely different than what it once was.

In today’s world, there are two major ways the role of stay at home mom (SAHM) has been redefined:
1) There are more ways to bring in extra income while taking care of the needs of the children at the same time.
2) Homemaking, raising kids and parenting are no longer their sole responsibility as an increasing number of dads are taking active roles in parenting.

Earning Extra Money
For some women, it is a difficult decision to either enter the workforce or stay home with the kids. Some couples need to have income from two different sources in order to pay for their house, their cars, their cell phones and all other living expenses.

More and more women are finding ways to add to the income of the family by using skills they have attained in higher education or previous work experiences by setting up an at-home business. Their ability to use their professional skills along with taking care of the family allows them to have the best of both worlds. Oftentimes women who are working right in their own house instead of going out to meet the demands of the corporate world, are under much less stress and have better health as a result.

Many women have their own online businesses or blogs to help bring in supplemental income while others have work-from-home jobs. Some examples include:

• Virtual assistant
• Web developer/designer
• Call center representative
• Writer/editor
• Travel agent

The Helpful Husband
When it comes to raising kids and being there for the family, husbands are taking a more active role than ever. Couples are finding ways to make it work to have just one parent working outside of the household. Husbands and dads are true partners when it comes to housework and showing love and support for their wives. Not only are they fully reliable when taking care of business, they can be counted on for childcare as well.

With less stress by both parents working outside of the home, couples can strengthen their marriage. Husbands are finding that even though they work 40 hours a week at their job, their wives work much longer hours. Here are some more ways dads can show love and support in their marriage:

• Be an encourager not a criticizer
• Help with the housework
• Don’t ask why something didn’t get done
• Schedule date nights