I’m payed a salary for house work

I’ve always liked to make my own money. I started working when I was in high school, babysitting and as camp instructor. While in college I had a couple of administrative jobs and later became an art’s teacher.

When the pandemic hit I was pregnant and I had to let down a job offer teaching high school since it was a very confusing time and no childcare was available. That didn’t mean I was not working, I was working more than ever: extra hours, the graveyard shift, weekends, holidays and even sick days. I was exhausted. And I was making no money at all. Recent studies show that having a newborn breastfeeding baby equals to a full time job… with no pay or tangible perks as promotions, networking or benefits. And that’s just for one baby, what if you have more than one child? shouldn’t stay at home moms (regardless of the age or their children) get a pay for investment or savings or whatever they want to spend it on?

It’s more than fair but at the end, it all depends on the kind of economic agreement you have with your partner regarding who pays what and who does which chores. But let’s keep in mind that sometimes moms have to stop working wether they went or or not, for the benefit of their families. It is well known that during the pandemic many women quit their jobs to become stay at home moms due to the lack of support they normally depended on for childcare and some free time. Some women couldn’t afford themselves this and had to juggle and make the greatest effort to keep cashing a check their family’s well being depended on and managing their online kid’s education.

But for the mothers that did quit their jobs so they could be at home for their kids,

the reward of doing so being the well being of their children, doesn’t cover it, because they lost their jobs, their professional development, opportunities of growth and whatnot. They lost a part of whom they are, many of them going through depression on identity crisis.

So, shouldn’t women be awarded some kind of monetary compensation for their contributions to the family? And who’s to pay for it?

As I was saying, it all depends on the economic arrangement you have with your partner but, if you are doing most of the house and care work for the family, shouldn’t you be making some money? After all, you are saving the family some costs and spendings. This is not out of feminist pride but because it is more than fair. I myself did some research on this matter: I created a spread sheet obsessively displaying all my expenses and how much money I was saving the family, keeping in mind that my child is my responsibility and I can’t get paid for every single thing I do because she is my responsibility, along with my husband. So, I summarized it like this: I was the one who willingly quit her job so she could be at home with her daughter, I, still to this day, willingly don’t work a full time job to be available for my kid. My husband and I agreed on this. Still, for all the long hours and domestic responsibilities I should be making some money, at least a half time salary (happily for me my child goes to daycare already so I can use those precious hours to do some freelance job and make more money).

I guess every situation is different , but you should really give it a thought and talk to your partner. Some kind of retribution is more than fair.

Since this arrangement I find my self doing the house chores more lightly if not more happily. Now, doing the monotonous weekly ritual of cleaning and washing doesn’t seem like such a waste of time, I put on a cool playlist and get on with it while I think “ey, at least I’m making some money “. Money ai can save and invest and plan for my future.

There’s a certain charm about being a stay at home mom, you can make yourself a lot of free time to do some more payés work or spend on hobbies or interests or your education.

These arrangements may never be perfect (being honest there are no promotions or Christmas bonus or networking by staying at home) but that doesn’t mean you can’t feel happy and satisfied by them, after all, we all have repels abilities in life that have to be done weather we like them or not.

So, go make your self a deal, it’s a way for more equality in house and child care and in a more fulfilling life, and you’ve earned it.

Everyday it seems like house work never ends, so, should we be doing it for free?