Whose Kids are Smarter, Those of Working or At-Home Parents?

Seriously, I have been both kinds of mom, as have many of you, I am sure. Are the kids I reared while being an at-home mom, which really means never-get-a-break-from-work-mom, smarter than those I (mostly) raised while working full time outside the home? Recently, I was listening to the radio and heard about a study that said kids of at-home parents were smarter and scored higher on standardized testing. It made me think of my six kids, and which I had worked (4) and stayed home (2) with, and how they perform academically. I must admit, though I am the same person, I have parented differently when I was working full time and when I was working from home. Obviously, each scenario has benefits and drawbacks, particularly when one considers the reality of living today and making the best of time we get with our kids. What do you think?

Benefits of being a Working Parent

• More financially secure, able to live in better home or community (let’s face it, the money is nice)
• Able to provide for extras like field trips, lessons, sports or other activities
• Parents get time away from home and non-stop domestic duties (sort of social life)
• Engages extended family and/or community to help with child care

Drawbacks of being a Working Parent

• Less time to spend with kids directly
• Possible conflicts with transportation/attending field trips, lessons or sports/activities
• Parents need to spend off-work time doing domestic tasks that still need doing
• Engaging help with child care may cost part of working parents’ income

Benefits of being an At-Home Parent

• Kids are often more emotionally secure
• Able to attend and participate in extras like field trips, lessons or sports/activities
• Domestic duties can be done when kids are in school, with the help of little ones or while tiny ones sleep
• Engages child-parent bonding, without cost of daycare, or at least less costly with a “mother’s helper”

Drawbacks of being an At-Home Parent

• Less financially secure, potentially impacting home/community options
• Less able to provide for extras like field trips, lessons or sports/activities
• Parents can get distracted by the non-stop domestic duties
• Possible tendency to stay home and not engage with extended family, friends and community

Does one really produce smarter kids? That’s hard to say. What’s right for my family might not work for yours. I think all of my kids are turning out pretty okay, I mean, so far. Thankfully and most importantly, they are all relatively average and healthy. Time will tell the rest. I can say I have felt the benefits and drawbacks of both scenarios. Priorities change over time, too. Even your own personality and those of your family can play a part in how well one might work, or not. As an at-home mom, I have still had to find sources of income, so to those of you who say, “Duh, who wouldn’t stay home if they could?” I say this: Not only am I a domestic goddess, I also earn money working from home and, when I chose and my schedule permits, outside the home. I love the flexibility of working from home and really never thought I could handle the lack of structure. Turns out, I was wrong! Whatever works for you, your kids, your family, do that, and count your blessings every day.