Thank you John Tesh!

Just a couple of days ago I blogged about my mommy guilt and returning to work. Luckily I've just had a (very minimal) bit of relief given to me by a faceless man.

Thank you, John Tesh. For those of you who have no idea who I'm talking about, John Tesh is a radio show host. His show airs nightly over our local station and is pretty interesting. He offers  us facts to live by in the way of : "Intelligence for Life", about almost anything.

A couple days ago when I was putting Monster to bed I was listening to a couple minutes of his show (Monster has a radio quietly going in his room 24/7). John Tesh was talking about Mommy Guilt! Ahh! You think I'm kidding right? Nope!

He provided statistics from studies (he usually states where and when the studies were done too) about children who have stay at home moms, and children who have working parents. Between the ages of 1 and 2, babies with working parents actually had a higher IQ. Not to worry stay at home moms, the study also showed that the babies all "leveled out" by the age of 3.

Another study he talked about followed 100(?) children from 8 months to 18 years that found it didn't matter if they had a stay at home mom or a working mom the children with more affectionate parents faired better in life. Children that experienced more affection from their parents handled stressful situations better, and were least likely to become depressed among a list of other things.

Of course I'm not going to base my whole views and opinions on one study, I would love to be a stay at home mom! But it definitely helps relieve a tiny bit of the guilt knowing those tid bits of information.


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Mommy Guilt - It's a real thing

Mommy guilt, it's a real thing! I'm sure there is such a thing as daddy guilt too, but since I'm a mommy; my guilt is more obvious.

Every day I experience this in one form or another. Am I doing the best possible thing I can do for my son at this particular time? Every day I am faced with a a decision, any where from "Are these clothes warm enough, or cool enough?", "Have I spent enough time reading and playing with Monster?"

How do you know if your worries are valid or relevant? I've been experiencing inner turmoil for the last two or three weeks regarding when the appropriate time to return to work would be. I'm not looking for advice on the subject because in the end I will have weighed the pros and cons myself and made the decision I feel is best for our family at this time.

I definitely sound like I'm trying to convince myself, don't I? The only reason I'm considering returning to the work force is because I have a two year financial plan in order to be able to buy a nice big house to hold my family (and potential family). Why can't the two year plan just wait until January when my maternity leave ends?

Well, if you ask my mom she will be the first person to agree that once I get an idea in my head it's difficult to change it, and I'm usually in a hurry to follow through with it. Since Hubbs does shift work it is possible for us to pull a couple of favors in order to ensure Monster won't spend much time (if any) with a sitter. Therefor one or both of us will always be his primary care giver, and one or both of us will always be around to see all his firsts.

How are parents supposed to handle guilt in any situation regarding their children?

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