As I said: there’s no substitutde for a parent. Sometimes it’s necessary for a host of circumstances, like a sick husband, divorce, etc. but that should not be the ideal.

That being said, it doesn’t mean a woman can’t work at all– a part-time job, or own an at-home business or volunteer or do activism (like me). It’s just that mothers should be emotionally available to their children most of the time. It’s unfair to the kid to have him, then stick him in daycare for 50 hours a week, depriving him of that emotional connection that is most likely to help in his development. And what’s the point of having kids if you don’t see them most of the week?

Many moms go to work because they feel that’s what’s expected of them. They think they can’t make it financially, when in reality, they’re just not prepared to sacrifice. In order to do what I do, I’ve had to settle living in a townhouse, instead of a single detached, and a cheap one at that. Sure it’s a sacrifice, but I get to see my kids, and my kids see me, and when there’s a problem, I’m there. It’s especially important since my daughter is autistic and has other concurrent issues, so I need to take her to the doctor every so often. I didn’t have to take time off work, I just did it.

I would say though, that it would help if stay-at-home moms weren’t so isolated. When you move to a new city like I did, and you have a newborn, and you don’t know anyone, that’s tough. I’d say that causes depression. I wasn’t depressed, but it was tough for me. I thought my daughter was collicky, but looking back I think she was being autistic and that’s why she cried a lot.

There are some studies showing that mothers who work outside the home are on average less depressed than those who do not. But there is always the question of cause and effect: are women who stay home depressed because they stay home, or do they stay home because they are depressed? I don’t know if we’ll ever discover the answer.

True, there are people who really do need the drugs, and while I’m not qualified to say what % of the population that may entail, it is likely be few enough that the idea of women being tranquilized would not have become movie cliche (as noted in the Star article).

If social conservative women no not object to women become something other than wife/mother, then what separates social conservatism from the mainstream? Most women don’t wish ill upon their children, and only small number adopt the idea of the state raising the child as an active philosophy (many more are forced into heavily using daycare for economic reasons).

CY

PS – I like your site

Sometimes the difference between the social conservative woman and the feminist is not their perception of what the problem is, but what the solution. Social conservative women do not object to women fulfilling themselves through roles other than wife and mother, but not at the expense of their children’s development. There is no substitute for a parent.