What do you do once your LO is in school full-time? At that point, do you continue to SAH or do you plan to return to work? Do you worry that you will no longer be marketable because you have been out of the field for so long?
If your child is in school full time, at that point are you still considered a SAHM or just a SAHW?
I hope that doesn't come off as judgmental, I am just honestly curious.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
My mom started teaching when I was in middle/high school.
honeydew / 7586 posts
@runsyellowlites: Ahh...I didn't even consider that option. At that point, I guess you are kind of a SAHM/WAHM at the same time!
honeydew / 7586 posts
@mrbee: Interesting. Was it a career change or was she able to return to the profession after staying at home for so long?
coconut / 8305 posts
@rahlyrah: Yea, I actually do WAH also for my moms ministry. Supplementary income & I'm home to do what is important to us. =)
clementine / 959 posts
I didn't have a career before becoming a SAHM and plan on having 4 kids (or maybe more, we'll see) so I plan to continue to SAH when they all go to school. I'm sure there will be plenty to keep me busy while they are gone and then lots of after school activities to shuttle them to!
cantaloupe / 6885 posts
I'm a teacher and after our year maternity, my school district lets us take a leave indefinitely (unpaid of course!) and securing our position. DH and I are talking about me taking a leave until LO is 5 then going back to my job after that.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@rahlyrah: It was a new career for her... she taught Japanese immersion at a private elementary school run by my 3rd grade teacher.
GOLD / wonderful apricot / 22276 posts
Hmm I may stay home, or may do something very part time. I will be involved in LO's school though. It will be a good 10 years before our potential youngest is in school full time anyway.
persimmon / 1171 posts
I plan to be very involved in little one's school, I think that would still make me a SAHM (: PTA mom? (:
grapefruit / 4819 posts
I plan on returning to work at least part time once my youngest LO is in school full time (I only have one now but we plan on having three). I'm a social worker so no, I don't worry about becoming defunct or too far removed to be able to do my job proficiently.
If I were to stay home, I would definitely consider myself a SAHM - just because the kids are in school for seven hours a day doesn't mean my motherly duties would be any less!
coconut / 8681 posts
Welllll by the time E is in school full time we plan to have one or two other children who will be home with me 
I plan to be a SAHM for quite awhile lol. Once all of the kids are in school full time I'll probably do something part time while the kids are in school.
nectarine / 2522 posts
I am currently self employed but when bub is here I will take a break until our kids reach school age and then I will get back into my business if that's still what I want at the time. But it will still be flexible.
squash / 13764 posts
@Running Elley: probably this...we want 3 kids so we will have one at home for a while.
I would like to find part time work or volunteer work in a few months though, that I can do for a while/while pregnant with #2
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
I plan on staying at home until the kids are out of school. Afterwards.. Haven't decided yet!
pomelo / 5178 posts
I plan on going back to work part-time by the time my youngest is two (he'll be 1 on Saturday, so only for another year). I'll have only been out of work for 2 years by then, and I'll be changing careers from what I was previously doing, so I'm not too concerned.
My mom was a SAHM and started getting involved in local politics when I was in middle school. By the time I was in high school she was in state politics, and after all of us left the house, she started working as a hotel desk clerk.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
I'm not sure what we will do when our youngest is in school full time, but hopefully I'll be able to find something flexible and part time to earn extra money. I've been thinking about a career change for a while, so I doubt I would come back to this field that I'm in right now, which makes it a little easier, I think. But I think someone is still a SAHM when their kids are in school full time-- my mom was and she was there to pick us up from school every day, go on field trips, pick us up if we got sick, etc. She did start a new career when my youngest sister went away to college-- she became a teacher. She could never have gone back to her old job, where she last worked 30+ years before as a computer programmer-- imagine how much THAT changed in 30 years.
@char54: @rahlyrah: My sister is doing something similar to char54-- she took her regular maternity leave, went back to work for a few months and was miserable, so she is taking an unpaid leave that holds a job of a similar level until her youngest is in kindergarten, or something like that. She works for the NY department of education. She won't get her same exact job back, but she will get a job at a similar level and seniority.
watermelon / 14206 posts
I stayed at home when ds went to kindergarten this year. But, since I was pregnant, it just made sense for me to just continue to stay at home, since I was just gonna stay home with dd when she arrived.
NOW...I guess I'll continue to stay at home through at least the summer, then when we reassess what our plans are (to TTC or not to TTC), then I'll make a decision for work or SAH.
I guess I'm technically a homemaker for the time being.
GOLD / papaya / 10206 posts
We really struggled with this decision and that is why I decided to go back to work when my mat leave was up. I knew I'd want to work again when LO#2 starts school, and by that point I'd be a pretty undesirable employee (no post secondary, out of the work force for 5+ year) for our area. If we won the lottery, I'd volunteer for the local tourism commission.
honeydew / 7917 posts
I keep going back and forth of whether or not I will work again once my kids are in school full time. My former boss told me that the greatest job of being a SAHM was being there for her kids when they came home from school. They would tell her about their day, and she thinks it made a big difference in her kids' lives.
I honestly didn't have much of a career prior to being a SAHM. I do worry about finding a job, but I think I would end up starting over (go back to school to get a different degree).
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
I'm trying to stay involved in my career field in a few ways- doing a little research / occasional teaching on the side while baby is little, and then probably will start working part time once baby is a toddler (and do part time childcare). It makes sense for us financially, and honestly, I think even if we could afford for me to stay home indefinitely, I would want to stay involved in my career. A lot is up in the air right now, but I'm committed to being home for at least the first year.
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
I'll probably still stay home. I may be homeschooling. If not I want to be involved in LO's school somehow.
nectarine / 2886 posts
I've been thinking about starting my own business. I have the vision but not enough time to set it all up!
Before I had LO, I volunteered and hope to do that again soon.
pomelo / 5093 posts
When all my children are in school, I want to return to research (or some other scientific work) part time, and transition to full time when they're older. My lack of interest in being at home full time for more than another few years is a large part in our choice to only have two. I enjoy much about being a SAHM, but the lack of intellectual stimulation is killer. I can't do it for many more years.
My current thought is to go back to school in 10-15 years for my masters in genetic counseling. That's my ideal career, and I know I won't be able to manage a demanding graduate degree before all of my children are safely in school. Transitioning to a full time career in midlife seems really ideal. We'll see where life takes me, I'm pretty excited.
cantaloupe / 6687 posts
I did not love being an attorney but I love being a SAHM...I'm not planning to return to private practice when my LOs go to school. My husband is very supportive of whatever I decide so I don't feel any pressure to decide what to do when that time comes...he is happy if I want return to work/school or if I want to continue staying at home. We talk about it and I feel like my days could still be so full even with the kids in school - volunteering, taking care of all the home stuff so we can all enjoy our weekends rather than catching up on laundry, groceries, cleaning, cooking, etc...and as our parents get older and need more help I could be the one that helps them get around to appointments, etc.
cantaloupe / 6164 posts
Right now I work part time, but once I get pregnant with our second, I'll become a SAHM. I plan to stay at home indefinitely after that. My mom was a SAHM, and was very active in our schools - PTA, room mom, chaperone, volunteer, etc. so I assume I'll do the same.
nectarine / 2163 posts
I got married and pregnant right after I graduated, so I don't have a career. My plan is to WAH (I'm a freelance editor for a family members company) until kiddies are all at school. Which could be a while away, because we plan in a big family!
cantaloupe / 6630 posts
Hmmm I'm really not sure. Journalism is up shit creek anyway really, so I'm guessing I'll have to retrain. For now I plan to freelance so I can stay home with A and future LOs, but perhaps careerwise, I'll regret it.
pomegranate / 3872 posts
I plan on staying home even after lo is in school. We want to have another baby in a few years and I want to be available for school stuff and activities. My husband's schedule is very flexible and he's able to be home a lot so we like that i'm around when he is and that I can help him with his business if he needs it.
pomelo / 5789 posts
My mom went from SAHM to a teacher and it was great! We had the same hours.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
Ditto @travelgirl1. I'm doing some freelancing while I'm home. Hoping that will keep me slightly more marketable, since I do want to go back in a few years.
apple seed / 2 posts
@rahlyrah: My daughter is almost 9 and I am still very much a SAHM. Your life gets busier as they get older IME. She has many more activities after school, I volunteer at her school and with numerous charitable organizations. Also, with as much as my husband travels, if I went back to work at my prior job {I was a chef} I would have to hire a nanny and that's not worth it to me. I want to be home for my daughter and for my husband.
pineapple / 12234 posts
I'll be working when my kids are in school. I don't really have any desire to stay home all day, alone.
grapefruit / 4049 posts
DD is going to school right now from 9a-3p and next year in kinder, will go from 8a-3p. That's school full-time, but it's really only 8 hours out of the 24 hours a day that I, as a SAHM, am "on". I also have a younger DD with me at home for one or two more years, but even when she is off to school, I can definitely see how I'll still be busy with SAHM duties even while they are in school. Cooking, cleaning and managing a household is a full-time job in itself!
I'm not too worried about the time I'm away from my career. Nursing is pretty flexible and when I want to get back into it, it might take a while for me to adjust again, but it's doable. I've worked with and come across a lot of RN's who stayed at home for years with their kids and went back to work just fine. Part-time and per diem schedules are also pretty common in my field, so there's always those options, which I believe would create a nice balance between home and work.
But I'll "stay at home" for as long as possible. I want to be around for school drop-offs and pick-ups, after school playdates and activities, homework help, etc...
pomelo / 5321 posts
I plan on going to school and then getting a job. I hope I can start school sooner rather than later. It will just depend on where we are in life. I'd love to be "room mom" but I don't think it's fair for me to stay home all day once our kids are in school. I'd also like to contribute a little financially. I'll probably aim for something that will allow me to be off for school pickups and afternoons.
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
39 comments