Some women have fulfilling careers and juggle that with raising children.
Some women, like single-moms, often have to work, and others choose
part-time careers or take breaks. All of the above are fine, and it is a
personal choice.
Some women also work full-time to have nicer homes, fancier
cars, and a more material-focused lifestyle. That's their choice too.
But the reality is that many women work boring, unfulfilling desk jobs, and
to claim that this is preferable to watching and helping your children grow and develop to their full potential is complete lunacy. It seems people are
less willing to make personal sacrifices (like having one car) in order to
be able to stay home with children.
Personally, when I have kids, I may choose to work part-time after they
reach school-age, or I may not. And if, financially, my family was in trouble,
or something happened to my husband, I would take a job.
But, children and family will be the priority. Unfortunately, too many women
choose the full-time job, kids, and husband, and it can become too much
to bear. The marriage ends in divorce, and then the woman, ironically, is
forced to work and is a at financial disadvantage. We can see from the
statistics that trying to "have it all" all at once doesn't work out well for
a lot of families.
I think many young women who work would stay at home with their children, but they fear that if the marriage dissolves they will be economically devestated. Alimony is rarely given these days, and many women who have been out of the workforce for several years find that their job skills are stale and thus it may take several years to make close to the salary they made prior to having children.
I would love to stay home with my kids once I get married and start a family, but that would be in the back of my mind.