What is a mother's work really worth?

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  Posted by Dubs Tue May 5, 2009 10:54pm PDT

  If you are so busy looking to assign a dollar amount to your own parenting abilities you should not really become a parent. It's not about the money. The acts and sacrifices of good mother or father are PRICELESS!!! Salary.com only does this BS for the sake of advertising.

  Notice they don't really advertise this on Father's Day...because dad's really don't give a @#@! about assigning monetary values to their everyday responsibilities in order to compensate for ego.

  Mom..if you are reading this...there's no way in hell I'm sending you a check. I'll cook you dinner any day of the week though, because everyday has the potential to be Mother's Day.

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  Posted by Kate W Wed May 6, 2009 6:49am PDT

  This number is a load of crap. They're taking the pay rate of someone who is a professional at what they do full time, and trying to apply it to someone who loosely does something similar at the level of an amature, and only part time (although they being a mom is obviously not part time, the individual things you do are not full time). Being a mom does NOT make you a psychologist as you do not have degrees to do so. Making sure that you stick to the grocery budget does not make you a CEO. This is about the most stupid thing I've heard yet today.

  Being a mom is NOT a job. No, it isn't. Maybe it's hard because you have extra responsibilities at home, but it's not a job. It's just what you are. It's like saying I should be paid for being a daughter.

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  Posted by Jett Wed May 6, 2009 6:55am PDT

  Gosh, Dubs, I hope your mom DOESN'T read this. You almost sound unappreciative, as if you're saying, "Do your damn job, Mom, without any thanks from me!"

  You do have a point, though, about fathers. Why don't we ever see articles like this about how much fathers are worth and how much THEY would be getting paid if compensated for every little job they did at home (chauffeur when driving children to and from places, chef, psychologist, scientist (when helping out with class projects), driver's ed teacher, escort to father-daughter events for Girl Scouts, doctor for sick children, exterminator, plumber, electrician, tour guide, teacher, swim coach, and the list goes on and on. Do people honestly think that moms do everything and dads do nothing? I feel bad for dads. They get the short end of the stick far too often. Sure there are some deadbeat men out there who don't do their part. But there are plenty of really great fathers who are expected to go back to work like normal after their babies are born rather than stay home to spend time with the new little family members like Mom gets to do, who do all the same jobs mothers do but get even less credit for their hard work. Yes mothers do much more than they get credit for and they do deserve thanks for their hard work, just don't leave dads out in the cold when you're passing out complements.

  I read an article last year about how Mothers Day cards are always so complementary and sweet and loving...and then the Fathers Day cards come out with little quips like, "Hey dad, thanks for getting your butt off the couch for a second to help me out for once. Don't worry the TV will be there for you after you teach me how to tie my shoes," as if we can't thank our fathers without sticking them with a jibe first. I just thought that was really sad.

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  Posted by km Wed May 6, 2009 6:57am PDT

  These salary reports are so annoying - let's put a dollar amount to the salary a stay at home mom should be earning just to validate her feelings since she doesn't actually go out and work. Staying at home and raising children is the easiest job you will ever have, don't kid yourself. I'm sorry but I work and raise a family and these reports do nothing for me.

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  Posted by Jett Wed May 6, 2009 7:02am PDT

  While I agree that being a parent IS a job, I don't think half the items on this list should apply. Like Kate W. said, "Making sure that you stick to the grocery budget does not make you a CEO," and even if it DID, EVERYONE who has their own place and buys their own groceries does the exact same thing. Are the people at salary.com suggesting that we ALL get compensated for the housework we do? You know, I work 40 hours a week outside of my home; I commute by car 10 hours a week. I also have four freelance jobs I'm doing to try to progress my career. When I'm not doing all those things, I'm at home cleaning or paying the bills, or organizing the finances, or unpacking from my recent move. I would love to get paid for doing the dishes at home, or lifting boxes, or paying bills. Oh, but wait, I'm not a mother yet, so I don't count. Only people who have reproduced are worth anything these days or have a right to be tired from the week.

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  Posted by Jett Wed May 6, 2009 7:11am PDT

  And another thing, I don't agree with that quote from Anne Morrow Lindburgh, "By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class.” Um, the last vacation I took included an interview I had to do by cell phone and several e-mails I had to send to work, as well as the stress associated with planning all that, because I had an article due after my vacation, and I still had to line up people to talk to and photos to go with the story. No, that isn't the same as toting children along with me, but I don't think it's fair for Lindburgh to assume that those of us without children have no worries and are perfectly able just drop everything for two weeks and jet off to the Caribbean. What about bills? What about pets at home? And what if you have to take your work with you? And, if you don't like your children or think having them around is the equivalent of being at work, then leave them with the grandparents and go on vacation alone already. I don't understand this mentality of feeling deprived because you chose to be a parent or wishing you were paid for the responsibilities you have in life. We all have responsibilities, different ones, but responsibilities nonetheless. Those who aren't taking care of children might be taking care of sick parents or other relatives or doing countless other taxing chores. Why do parents want the rest of us who aren't parents to feel sorry for them?

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  Posted by Leah Wed May 6, 2009 7:27am PDT

  km said: "Staying at home and raising children is the easiest job you will ever have, don't kid yourself."

  HA! So, I'm sure you would love to trade your day job for spending all day with my four kids, ages 2-9, that I stay home with so that I can homeschool them. Not an easy job I can tell you. There are days when I would love to have a job outside the home but in the long run I'm glad I'm where I am.

  And I never get a vacation because I take my work with me, lol. Whether it's home, hotel or campground I'm still cooking, cleaning and raising kids. But whoever said it earlier is right, it's not a job, it's who I am.

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  Posted by Jett Wed May 6, 2009 7:28am PDT

  Just out of curiosity, I wonder if that mom paycheck really would be $122,732, given the current economy and the fact that despite inflation, many jobs have not increased the amount of the average paycheck.

  Case in point. You know "The Game of Life," that board game from the late 70s/early 80s? In that game, 30 years ago, the paycheck for a journalist was $25,000. You know what journalists get today, in real life, 30 years later? $26,000!!! There are some jobs that are not effected by inflation.

  That's food for thought.

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  Posted by Sophie'sMom Wed May 6, 2009 7:36am PDT

  There are still many homes in which the woman does all the work herself, whether or not she works only in the home, or also in the "workplace." The calculation tools you offer are invaluable to some of us. who question our worth on a daily basis.

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  Posted by Magnolia_Doodle Wed May 6, 2009 7:46am PDT

  While this is interesting, this article also forgets that many mothers who work also do many of the responsibilities that a stay at home mother does. So to my salary then you would add a portion of the above salary as I also grocery shop, clean house, do laundry etc. Yes my husband does some of those things- and does that mean that which he does can be added to his salary? So let's be a little more realistic...I could add about 60% of that figure to my salary and come out making about that of a stay-at-home parent. And you know what, when someone works full time, vacations frequently mean becoming a full-time parent (and then working extra before and after the vaction to stay "caught up" at work).

  That being said.....

  There is an interesting need by those who choose to stay at home to justify their choice to those of us who choose to work. The reality is, some are better equipped to be stay-at-home parents and so prefer to work. It is a choice, and one I would imagine was made based on calculating the financial implications. If you have multiple children in need of daycare, is it cheaper to work or stay home? my guess, stay home.

  We all make choices and hopefully these choices are made based on all factors. There is a difference between explaining yourself and the need to justify your decision- and neither of the two should look down at the other for making the choice they did.

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